Peter Bottomley MP

Peter Bottomley MP (Conservative) MP for Worthing West. His wife Virginia Bottomley is a member of the House of Lords. His previous careers have included lorry driving, industrial sales and industrial relations. He is an industrial economist. Member of the All Party Internet Group. He is Vice Chair of the Libraries and Information Management All-Party Parliamentary Group.

Issues

Electronic Voting

Signed an Early Day Motion in 2002 Prevention of fraud in electronic voting systems

That this House believes that no electronic system of voting should be introduced into any British election unless it is accompanied by a verifiable paper trail for every vote cast, which if needs be can be used to address any concerns that may be raised that such electronic systems are faulty, defective or used fraudulently.

Identity cards

Signed Early Day Motion 263 Identity Cards 06 June 2005

That this House believes that a convincing case for the introduction of compulsory biometric identity cards and a national database has not been made, that the risks involved far outweigh any discernible benefit, that the introduction of identity cards will fundamentally change the relationship between the citizen and the state, diminish personal privacy and threaten civil liberties, that the present proposals do not provide properly costed, proportionate or effective solutions to the problems they are claimed to solve; and calls upon the Government to shelve plans for their introduction.

Internet Censorship

Signed an Early Day Motion Freedom of Expression and the UN Internet Governance Forum 30 October 2006

That this House notes with concern that internet repression is hampering freedom of expression across the world especially in Iran, Vietnam, the Maldives and China; urges companies in China, including Microsoft, Google and Yahoo, to reveal which words they have banned from blogs or have filtered out of web searches; requests that they make public all their agreements with the Chinese authorities and publicly call for the release of cyber-dissidents jailed for expressing peaceful opinions online; welcomes Amnesty International's irrepressible.info campaign to ensure that the internet remains a tool for political freedom, not repression; and urges the UK Government to make strong representations at the UN Internet Governance Forum in Athens in November to ensure that the internet remains a tool for the free flow of information and respect for human rights and that freedom of expression is a key component to any future agreement on internet governance.

Children's Digital Rights

Signed Early Day Motion 446 Contactpoint 29 November 2007

That this House notes the announcement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families of the deferral of the implementation of ContactPoint to allow for an independent assessment of its security procedures by Deloitte and to address the changes to ContactPoint that potential system users have suggested, but regrets that this review will not extend to the design and content of ContactPoint; expresses concern over the safety implications of such a vast database containing potentially sensitive information in the light of security breaches at HM Revenue and Customs; further expresses concerns about the projected costs of ContactPoint; notes the conclusion of the House of Lords Select Committee on Merits of Statutory Instruments that the Government has not conclusively demonstrated that a universal database is a proportionate response to the problem being addressed; and therefore calls upon the Government to reconsider its decision to proceed.

Freedom of Information

Signed Early Day Motion 845 Freedom of Information 06 Febuary 2007

That this House expresses concern that the proposed new fees regulations under the Freedom of Information Act would allow authorities to refuse on cost grounds a high proportion of requests which they are currently required to answer; notes that the Government's consultation document recognises that this will have a greater impact on journalists, hon. Members, campaign groups and researchers than on private individuals; considers that such changes would undermine the Act's contribution to increased discussion of public affairs, accountability and trust in the work of public authorities; and calls on the Government not to proceed with the proposals.

Signed Early Day Motion 2699 Freedom of Information 10 December 2006

That this House welcomes the finding of the Constitutional Affairs Committee (HC991) that the Freedom of Information Act has `already brought about the release of significant new information and....this information is being used in a constructive and positive way' and the committee's conclusion that it sees `no need to change' the Act's charging arrangements; views with concern reports that the Government is considering changing these arrangements to permit an application fee to be charged for all requests or to allow authorities to refuse, on cost grounds, a significant proportion of requests which they currently must answer; and considers that such changes could undermine the Act's benefits of increased openness, accountability and trust in the work of public authorities.

Database State

Signed Early Day Motion 210 Data Intrusion 21 November 2006

That this House notes with concern the increasing incidence of data intrusion or data rape, as it is increasingly becoming known, the process whereby personal and hitherto confidential data is transferred to central databases established by the Government which can then be made available to third parties, such as police and security services, without consent being required; notes that the operation of the new national medical database will require medical records, which until now have remained in the confidential custody of general practitioner practices, to be uploaded to the Spine, a computer which will collect details from doctors and hospitals; supports the British Medical Association in its demand that patients should be asked for their explicit permission before their files are transferred; further notes with concern the reports of plans to establish and expand national databases in relation to the identity card scheme, DNA and the national census; and calls on the Government to establish a legislative framework which will safeguard access to personal data which has as its foundation not only the requirement for explicit consent but the right to know which agencies have a right to, and have requested access to, personal information.

Also see NHS, Identity cards and DNA database.

Open Source Software

Signed Early Day Motion 179 Software in Schools 21 November 2006

That this House congratulates the Open University and other schools, colleges and universities for utilising free and open source software to deliver cost-effective educational benefit not just for their own institutions but also the wider community; and expresses concern that Becta and the Department for Education and Skills, through the use of outdated purchasing frameworks, are effectively denying schools the option of benefiting from both free and open source software and the value and experience small and medium ICT companies could bring to the schools market.

Spam

Signed the Early Day Motion Spam E-Mails 16 November 2003

That this House commends the House of Commons Library Standard note on Unsolicited Electronic Mail (SN/SC/1280); notes that according to computer experts the amount of spam increased from 3.2 per cent. of total communication in 2002 to an astonishing 55 per cent. in March 2003 and that 90 per cent. of spam, most of which is pornographic in content, can be identified as emanating from 150 sources, 40 of which are located in Florida; believes that the electronic mail system is likely to collapse if the volume of spam is not reduced; commends the EU for introducing legislative measures that should stifle the operations of bulk commercial e-mailers by the end of this year by ensuring that only those opting in would receive spam messages; regrets that this legislation will not cover spam originating from the US and other off shore distribution points; expresses its concern at the Bush Administration's plans to offer only an opt out option for those wishing to block unsolicited mail; calls on the US Administration to adopt legislation based on the EU model; and calls on the Government to make urgent representations on behalf of its 20 million citizens now on-line.

Computer Games

Signed Early Day Motion 61 Epilepsy and screen-based electronic games 6 November 2007

That this House recognises that photosensitive epileptic seizures can be triggered by screen-based electronic games; notes with concern that there is no legal duty on computer game publishers to test their products before publication to make sure they do not trigger a seizure; further notes with concern that there is no legal requirement for computer game publishers to offer warnings that their products could trigger a seizure; and calls upon the Government to consider making it a legal requirement for computer game publishers to test their products before publication and to remove scenes that could potentially trigger a photosensitive epileptic seizure.

Links

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