Sian James MP

Sian James MP (Labour) MP for Swansea East. Siân James MP.

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the wider community; and expresses concern that Becta and the Department for Education and Skills, through the use of outdated purchasing frameworks, are effectively denying schools the option of benefiting from both free and open source software and the value and experience small and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.

News

2006-05-22 - OUT-LAW - ISPs to be pressured to block child porn

Summary: ISPs would be required "to declare publicly whether or not they have taken, or are taking, appropriate technical steps to block access to web sites that contain child pornography" under a new law which has had its second reading in the House of Commons. If passed, the Control of Internet Access (Child Pornography) Act would require every ISP to declare in its annual report and on its website whether it is actively pursuing measures to prevent its customers from obtaining access to known child pornography websites. It would stop short of compelling an ISP to block access. ... on the 15th May 2005, the Home Office Parliamentary Under-Secretary Vernon Coaker suggested that if ISPs do not voluntarily block child porn by the end of next year, the Government will consider taking further action. Coaker was answering a written question from Sian James, Labour MP for Swansea East, on what progress has been made by the Government with ISPs in preventing access to child porn. Coaker pointed to a reduction in the proportion of illegal sites reported to the IWF that are hosted in the UK, from 18% in 1997 to 0.4% in 2005. And of blacklisting by providers, [[Vernon Coaker MP|Coaker] said that all 3G mobile network operators currently block their mobile customers from accessing known illegal sites and the biggest ISPs (who between them provide over 90% of domestic broadband connections) are either currently blocking or have plans to by the end of 2006. "We recognise the progress that has been made as a result of the industry's commitment and investment so far," said Coaker. "However, 90% of connections is not enough and we are setting a target that by the end of 2007, all ISPs offering broadband internet connectivity to the UK general public put in place technical measures that prevent their customers accessing websites containing illegal images of child abuse identified by the IWF." He said that for new ISPs or services, "we would expect them to put in place measures within nine months of offering the service to the public." He added, "If it appears that we are not going to meet our target through co-operation, we will review the options for stopping UK residents accessing websites on the IWF list."