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FREEDOM HOUSE Freedom on the Net 2012 1 UNITED KINGDOM 2011 2012 POPULATION: 63 million INTERNET FREEDOM STATUS Free Free INTERNET PENETRATION 2011: 82 percent Obstacles to Access (0-25) 1 1 WEB 2.0 APPLICATIONS BLOCKED: No NOTABLE POLITICAL CENSORSHIP: No Limits on Content (0-35) 8 8 BLOGGERS/ICT USERS ARRESTED: No Violations of User Rights (0-40) 16 16 PRESS FREEDOM STATUS: Free Total (0-100) 25 25 * 0=most free, 100=least free INTRODUCTION The United Kingdom was an early adopter of new information and communication technologies (ICTs). The University of London was one of the first international nodes of the ARPAnet, the world’s introductory operational packet switching network that later came to compose the global internet, and the Queen sent her first ceremonial email in 1976. Academic institutions began connecting to the network in the mid-1980s. Internet service providers (ISPs) began appearing in the late 1980s, and more general commercial access was available by the early 1990s. The United Kingdom has high levels of internet penetration, and online freedom of expression is generally respected. In the past year, however, substantial debate emerged about placing limits on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook following the London riots in 2011, which prompted Prime Minister David Cameron and other officials to suggest that there should be a way of disabling these services when they are being used to promote violence. After an immediate public outcry, the government backed away from making any concrete proposals to this effect. The government has also taken proactive measures to combat copyright violations through the blocking of websites and penalties for alleged offenders. Moreover, public concern over surveillance has continued to grow, particularly after the Communications Capabilities Development Programme was reintroduced in May 2012, which if implemented would require ICT service providers to retain data on phone calls, emails, text messages and communications on social-networking UNITED KINGDOM FREEDOM HOUSE Freedom on the Net 2012 2 sites, in addition to expanding the real time surveillance capabilities of the security services in order to combat terrorism and organized crime.1 In a positive development, the government introduced a bill to revise the Defamation Act,2 which would provide greater protections for ISPs, limit their liability for user-generated content, and place limits on “libel tourism.” Additionally, new Protection of Freedoms Act of 2012 sets forth a requirement for local authorities to obtain a magistrate’s approval for access to communications data, thereby placing limits on their surveillance powers. OBSTACLES TO ACCESS Access to internet in the United Kingdom is widespread, and there are few practical barriers, even in rural and disadvantaged areas. The share of homes with computers has increased from 52 percent in 2001 to 78 percent in 2011,3 and internet penetration stood at 82 percent in 2011.4 Broadband is almost universally available, with nearly 100 percent of all households capable of obtaining ADSL connections and 48 percent able to connect via cable. The government in December 2010 committed to ensuring “superfast” broadband of at least 24 Mbps for 90 percent of households by 2015.5 The Broadband Delivery Programme is providing £830 million (US$1.32 billion) in funding for the project. Those in the lowest income groups are significantly less likely to have home internet subscriptions, and the gap has remained the same for the past several years. The share of people over 65 with an internet subscription is significantly lower than that of all other age groups, but the gap has been narrowing rapidly. Mobile telephone penetration is also universal, with a penetration rate of over 130 percent in 2011.6 Second-generation (2G) networks are available in 99.9 percent of households while third-generation (3G) services are available in 98.9 percent. Mobile broadband is also increasing and is now used by 17 percent of all households, while 11 percent of households 1 David Barrett, “Phone and email records to be stored in new spy plan,” The Telegraph, February 18, 2012, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/9090617/Phone-and-email-records-to-be-stored-in-new-spy-plan.html. 2 See, Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Draft Defamation Bill, Defamation Bill 2012-13 (HC Bill 51), http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2012-13/defamation.html. 3 Ofcom, The Consumer Experience 2011: Research Report (London: Ofcom, December 2011), http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/consumer-experience/tce-11/research_report_of511a.pdf. 4 International Telecommunication Union (ITU), “Percentage of individuals using the Internet, fixed (wired) Internet subscriptions, fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions,” 2011, accessed July 13, 2012, http://www.itu.int/ITU- D/ICTEYE/Indicators/Indicators.aspx#. 5 Department for Innovation, Business and Skills (BIS), Britain’s Superfast Broadband Future, December 2010. http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/britainsSuperfastBroadbandFuture.pdf. 6 International Telecommunication Union (ITU), “Mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions,” 2011, accessed July 13, 2012, http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Indicators/Indicators.aspx#. UNITED KINGDOM FREEDOM HOUSE Freedom on the Net 2012 3 use mobile broadband as their main internet connection. Prices for telecommunications access, including mobile telephony and broadband, have continued to decline. Between 2008 and 2011, the average cost of all mobile service packages declined 27 percent to under £9 pounds (US$14) per month for a basic package and £33 for (US$52) for an advanced package that includes internet.7 The price of broadband declined 33 percent in the past five years to about 14 pounds (US$22) per month while increasing in speed from 1.6 Mbps to an average of 15.5 Mbps.8 The government does not place limits on the amount of bandwidth ISPs can supply, and the use of internet infrastructure is not subject to government control. ISPs regularly engage in traffic shaping or slowdowns of certain services, such as peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing and television streaming, while mobile providers have cut back previously unlimited access packages for smart phones, reportedly because of concerns about network congestion. The Office of Communications (Ofcom), the country’s telecommunications regulator, adopted a voluntary code of practice on broadband speeds in 2008, which it updated in 2010.9 It held a consultation on the subject in 201010 and released a report in 2011 that called for a self- regulatory approach to network neutrality focusing on information disclosure rather than enforceable rules.11 It described blocking of services and sites by ISPs as “highly undesirable” but said that market forces will address possible problems. In March 2011, the major ISPs pledged to a “Voluntary industry code of practice on traffic management transparency for broadband services,”12 which will make the traffic management practices of various ISPs more transparent and accessible to consumers. There was significant controversy about placing limits on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook following the London riots in 2011. It was alleged that the sites were used to organize the disorder, prompting Prime Minister David Cameron and other public officials to suggest that there should be a way of preventing people from using these sites in similar situations.13 The government, however, backed away from the statement after public and industry protests, and no specific steps were ever taken that would restrict use of social media. 7 Ofcom, The Consumer Experience 2011: Research Report. 8 Ibid. 9 Ofcom, “2010 Voluntary Code of Practice: Broadband Speeds,” July 27, 2010, http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/codes-of-practice/broadband-speeds-cop-2010/code-of-practice/. 10 Ofcom, “Traffic Management and 'net neutrality,' A Discussion Document,” June 24, 2010, http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/net-neutrality/. 11 Ofcom, “Ofcom’s approach to net neutrality,” November 11, 2011, http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/net- neutrality/statement/. 12 Broadband Stakeholder Group, “Broadband providers launch new traffic management transparency code,” March 15, 2012, http://www.broadbanduk.org/content/view/479/7/. 13 “PM statement on disorder in England,” The official site of the British Prime Minister’s Office, August 11, 2011, http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/pm-statement-on-disorder-in-england/; “England riots: Government mulls social media controls,” BBC News, August 11, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14493497. UNITED KINGDOM FREEDOM HOUSE Freedom on the Net 2012 4 Nominet, the main domain registrar in the United Kingdom, is currently consulting on a new policy regarding the suspension of web domains at the request of law enforcement bodies.14 The registrar has already suspended thousands of domains without a court order after receiving complaints from the police and other bodies for alleged criminal violations.15 Nominet is also being told that failure to remove the domains may result in them being found criminally liable. Under an appeals process, 12 orders have been appealed with three overturned. Civil rights groups and ISPs are demanding that court orders should be required under the new policy.16 The United Kingdom provides a competitive market for internet access, with approximately 700 ISPs in operation; however, 95 percent of users are served by five major companies. ISPs