According to a report in The Telegraph today, Peers in Britain’s upper chamber, The House of Lords, are to be permitted to use iPads and other mobile devices inside the chamber for a trial period of one year. For that period of time, and possibly longer if the trial works out, peers can use handheld electronic devices, such as the iPad, other tablets, smartphones and ebook readers during debates, so long as their sound is turned down – don’t want to hear any Angry Birds cackling during the important debates! Laptops will still be banned, however, and the lords will also have their browsing privileges restricted on those mobile devices that are permitted in the chamber. Googling and searching the internet, for example, will be banned, mainly because the the Lords Administration and Works Committee that made the proposal to allow the iPad and other devices into the chamber says it would be difficult to differentiate between appropriate and non-appropriate internet use.
Interestingly enough, this now puts the unelected second chamber ahead of the elected MPs in the House of Commons, who are still not yet allowed to use iPads and other devices in their chamber.
Source: Apple iPad enters the House of Lords - Telegraph
