February 11, 2005
MPs banned from using electronic devices in Commons
Members of the UK Parliament who interrupt the session with text message noises or ring tones can expect to be admonished by the Leader of the House, reports Silicon.com.
"House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin has declared that anyone using BlackBerrys or other "electronic devices" in the chamber can be thrown out.
Martin said that the use of mobile phones and PDAs with silent prompts remained acceptable.
"But I am not prepared to accept the use of electronic devices to communicate outside the chamber, nor to act as an aide memoire by a member participating in proceedings," he told the House.
The U.K. Parliament isn't the only executive body that has had trouble with wayward politicians and their handhelds.
A Norwegian parliamentarian was censured after he was found playing playing war games on his PDA during a discussion on military action in Afghanistan. "
Related:
-- Italian deputies drowned out in mobile phone clampdown - Pier Ferdinando Casini, speaker of the lower house of the Italian parliament, has ordered loudspeakers be installed, set at a very high volume, under all deputies' benches - to drown out mobile phone conversations among deputies...
-- Japanese lawmakers scolded for sending SMS in Parliament - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi scolded rookie lawmakers Thursday for reading comic books and sending text messages during legislative sessions.
-- MPs allowed to text on the bench House of Representatives Speaker Neil Andrew of The Parliament of Australia yesterday ruled in favour of MPs using cell phones for text messaging.
-- Video Phones Outlawed in SA Parliamentary Chambers - South African Speaker Peter Lewis warned MPs that they could lose parliamentary privilege by using camera phones in parliamentary chambers.
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