tagged w/ Stop Online Piracy Act
-
-
In yet another attempt to ‘ensure our liberties’, congress is currently debating Stop Online Piracy Act – aka SOPA. The very fact that their current laws are unenforceable due to a lack of personnel and funding, congress apparently feels that more laws are the answer…again. In their twisted heads, they seem to believe that by denying a dns (domain name service) entry onto the web via its ISP (Internet Service Provider), they can somehow save money. Just a few minor holes into this thing that I would like to shoot down right now.
1 – Smaller ISP’s are to be more impacted by this than the larger ones – small wonder as to why the big dogs in the major Companies support this nonsense (for a list of supporting companies, go t......
http://peacefreedomprosperity.com/6151/12-reasons-why-sopa-is-worse-than-you-think/In yet another attempt to ‘ensure our liberties’, congress is currently... more
-
-
![The Chinese view of SOPA - "[Chinese] are ahead of the whole world, and the ‘American imperialists’ are racing to catch up.”](http://i2.crtcdn1.net/images/spacer.gif)
As members of Congress edge away from the Stop Online Piracy Act, leaders of the opposition can count among their most frequently used rhetorical tools a metaphor that has come to define this debate: SOPA = China.
The legislation would impose a “chilling internet censorship regime here in the U.S. comparable in some ways to China’s ‘Great Firewall,’” Wired wrote. Sergey Brin—who led G-Day, Google’s withdrawal from mainland China—said that the bills would “put us on a par with the most oppressive nations in the world.” Rebecca MacKinnon, an Internet-freedom expert who used to be journalist in Beijing, says they would impose a “censorship mechanism that is almost identical, technically, to the mechanism the Chinese use to censor their Internet.”
So, how does it all look to the people who actually live with it? In China, the reaction to American protests has ranged from sympathy to gentle Schadenfreude, as Chinese Web users try to sort out whether they are being held up as victims or patsies or pirates. After several years in which American diplomats have inveighed against Internet censorship in China, the proposals have inspired a bit of snickering. “The Great Firewall turns out to be a visionary product; the American government is trying to copy us,” one commentator wrote. A Chinese message making the rounds on Thursday said: “At last, the planet is becoming unified: We are ahead of the whole world, and the ‘American imperialists’ are racing to catch up.”
Fittingly, perhaps, the discussion has unfolded on Weibo, the Twitter-like micro-blogging site that has a team of censors on staff to trim posts with sensitive political content. That is the arrangement that opponents of the bill have suggested would be required of American sites if they are compelled to police their users’ content for copyright violations. On Weibo, joking about SOPA’s similarities to Chinese censorship was sensitive enough that some posts on the subject were almost certainly deleted (though it can be hard to know). But among those that survived, a commentator known as Dr. Zhang wrote: “I’ve come up with a perfect solution: You can come to China to download all your pirated media, and we’ll go to America to discuss politically sensitive subjects.”
There are, needless to say, differences of degree. While Chinese sites censor references to Tiananmen Square, Falun Gong, the Dalai Lama and other third-rail political issues, the force comes not in the act of censorship, but in the instances when prosecutions follow: the Chinese woman sentenced to a year of reform through labor for retweeting a joke, or the student detained for forwarding what authorities called a “rumor” about the murder of eight village officials. (h/t Isaac Stone Fish at Foreign Policy.)
After Chinese Web users got over the strangeness of hearing Americans debate the merits of screening the Web for objectionable content, they marvelled at the American response. Commentator Liu Qingyan wrote:
We should learn something from the way these American Internet companies protested against SOPA and PIPA. A free and democratic society depends on every one of us caring about politics and fighting for our rights. We will not achieve it by avoiding talk about politics.
There was little expectation that Chinese Web sites would ever band together to express their opposition to censorship: “Baidu, would you dare do something like this?” one asked.
The most eloquent response to the controversy, perhaps, was one that nobody saw at all. Commentator Shi Han wrote about trying to post a comment to Tencent, the giant Chinese portal. “I’ve written a short article about SOPA. But when I tried to put it up, Tencent replied with a message: ‘Your content has not passed review.’”
http://news.yahoo.com/the-chinese-view-of-sopa.htmlAs members of Congress edge away from the Stop Online Piracy Act, leaders of the... more
-
-
SOPA and PIPA explained in plain English
These two bills, SOPA and PIPA, are amongst the most dangerous pieces of legislature ever to be written up for passage by the United States government in regards to innovation and the free market on a global scale today:
White House reaction to the SOPA bill specifically has effectively curbed it?
SOPA and PIPA work with non-US sites by attacking the sites inside the USA that work with them to bring their content to US citizens. Just to be clear, the US government already has the right to seize domains inside the USA (.com, .net. and .org) they believe are used for piracy, and have been doing so since 2010 through the “Operation In Our Sites” act with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) – having seized hundreds of domains thus far.
http://www.slashgear.com/slashgear-101-sopa-and-pipa-explained-in-plain-english-17209599/SOPA and PIPA explained in plain English
These two bills, SOPA and PIPA, are... more
-
-
-
-
R3zn8D
-
added this
-
4 months ago
- |
-
The widespread Internet blackout Wednesday, in which sites such as Wikipedia and Reddit went dark to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), seems to have influenced members of the U.S. Congress.
PIPA co-sponsor Florida Sen. Marco Rubio pulled his name from the bill Wednesday and SOPA co-sponsor Arizona Rep. Ben Quayle pulled his name Tuesday.
Rubio communicated his withdrawal via a Facebook post, titled “A Better Way to Fight the Online Theft of American Ideas and Jobs,” in which he argues congress should avoid rushing to pass the bill that could have unintended consequences.
“As a senator from Florida, a state with a large presence of artists, creators and businesses connected to the creation of intellectual property, I have a strong interest in stopping online piracy that costs Florida jobs.
However, we must do this while simultaneously promoting an open, dynamic Internet environment that is ripe for innovation and promotes new technologies.”
The Florida Senator encouraged his co-sponsor Nevada Sen. Harry Reid to follow his lead and abandon the bill in order to “take more time to address the concerns raised by all sides, and come up with new legislation that addresses Internet piracy while protecting free and open access to the Internet.”
SEE ALSO: Why SOPA Is Dangerous
Following the PIPA co-sponsor’s withdrawal, Texas Sen. John Cornyn followed suit, posting a statement of abandonment on Facebook Wednesday morning. Similarly, a spokesperson for Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry said the Congressman is unable to support SOPA as it’s written and plans to withdraw his support as well, the Omaha World-Herald reports.
We will update this story throughout the day should more members of congress change their course.
Do you think the widespread website blackouts, such as Wikipedia’s, are to credit for the bills’ supporter drain?The widespread Internet blackout Wednesday, in which sites such as Wikipedia and... more
-
-
SOPA, PIPA
What does the legislation do?
-
-
Most of you know that today, January 18, is a national day of protest against SOPA and PIPA. Although SOPA is now DOA, and I see no way that PIPA can survive the promised filibuster by my Senator, Ron Wyden (D-OR), I am happy to join in that protest until the last nail is in PIPA’s coffin.Most of you know that today, January 18, is a national day of protest against SOPA and... more
-
-
Beginning midnight Wednesday, some major Internet companies could go dark for 24 hours as part of an online protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. Ray Suarez discusses the planned blackout with Ben Huh, the CEO of a participating company, and NBC Universal's Rick Cotton, who supports the legislation as written.Beginning midnight Wednesday, some major Internet companies could go dark for 24 hours... more
-
-
The wave of online protests against two Congressional bills that aim to curtail copyright violations on the Internet is gathering momentum.
Wikipedia is the latest Web site to decide to shut on Wednesday in protest against the two Congressional bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act, often called SOPA, and the Protect IP Act, which is often called PIPA. The bills have attracted fierce opposition from many corners of the technology industry. Opponents say several of the provisions in the legislation, including those that may force search engines and Internet service providers to block access to Web sites that offer or link to copyrighted material, would stifle innovation, enable censorship and tamper with the livelihood of businesses on the Internet.
Nearly 800 members of Wikipedia have been debating and voting whether the English-version of the site should participate in a blackout since December.
Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, confirmed the site’s decision on Monday on Twitter, writing: “Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday!”
In a phone interview late Monday, Mr. Wales said that the Wikipedia community hoped to send a clear message to lawmakers and regulators in Washington that people who worked on the Internet and used it daily were not happy about the potential effects of the bills.
“What will make a difference is for ordinary people to pick up the phone and send an e-mail or a letter to their representatives about this,” he said. “When you consider the magnitude of how many people use Wikipedia globally, there is a potential here for really creating some noise and getting some attention in the U.S.”
Mr. Wales said that if passed, the bills could censor what information and links that sites like Wikipedia would be permitted to publish.
“The government could tell us that we could write an entry about the history of the Pirate Bay but not allow us to link to it,” he said, referring to the popular file-sharing site. “That’s a First Amendment issue.”
Wikipedia will go dark at midnight Eastern time on Tuesday and remain unavailable until midnight Eastern time on Wednesday. Visitors around the globe who try to reach the English-version of Wikipedia will be greeted with information about the bills and details about how to reach their local representatives. Mr. Wales said 460 million people around the world visited the site each month, and he estimated that the blackout could reach as many as 100 million people. In addition, some international Wikipedia communities, including the one in Germany, have decided to post notices on their home pages leading to information about the protests, although they will remain functioning as usual.
Mr. Wales said the decision to take the site down was an unprecedented move by Wikipedia. In October, the Italian version of Wikipedia staged a similar online protest in response to a similar bill proposed by the Italian Parliament, but the scale of Wednesday’s demonstration would be significantly broader, he said.
Wikipedia’s protest will join several other Web sites, including Reddit, the social news site, and BoingBoing, a technology and culture blog, that also plan to black out their sites on Wednesday. Some sites that are not planning to go offline are still finding ways to participate in the protest. For example, WordPress, a blogging platform, is supplying its users with a widget that will add a banner to their Web sites and blogs showing support for the protest.
It is not yet clear whether any of the biggest Internet companies, like Facebook or Google, will also participate. Dick Costolo, chief executive at Twitter, responding to inquiries on Twitter, suggested that although the company had been among those in the industry to oppose elements of the bill, it would not follow in Wikipedia’s footsteps.
The groundswell of technology leaders, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and public policy advocates galvanizing around a central political issue is unique to the technology industry, which has largely been inactive in lobbying and activities in Washington.
But that is changing, Mr. Wales said.
“What we’ve seen across the world, with the Arab Spring, is that people are now more aware of the tools that are available for people to make a big noise and make their voices heard,” he said. “Ten years ago, the Internet was quite big and didn’t have the infrastructure for the public to express their voice in this way, and that’s fundamentally changing.”
By JENNA WORTHAMThe wave of online protests against two Congressional bills that aim to curtail... more
-
-
-
Beginning earlier this morning at midnight, Wednesday, January 18, 2012 some major Internet companies did something historical - by going dark for 24 hours as part of an online protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA.Beginning earlier this morning at midnight, Wednesday, January 18, 2012 some major... more
-
-
Is President Obama's word that he will veto SOPA and PIPA as good as his word that he would veto the NDAA?Is President Obama's word that he will veto SOPA and PIPA as good as his word... more
-
-
Good video reviewing how SOPA/PIPA came to be and what the power of the peoples' voices can accomplish.
Time to stop lobbying for the 1% and start respecting the rights of all Americans.
STOP PIPA/KEEP SOPA DEAD.Good video reviewing how SOPA/PIPA came to be and what the power of the peoples'... more
-
-
Click on the link and sign the petition.
-
-
By Josh Sternberg current.com contributor
UPDATE, 11:15 p.m. ET: There’s a little less than an hour to go until the sites protesting SOPA and PIPA come back to us here’s what’s happened since our last update.
A whole bunch of senators and representatives changed their positions and came out opposing the current iteration of the SOPA and PIPA legislation. The Daily Beast reports:
Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Mark Rubio (R-FL), and Jerry Moran (R-KS), also cosponsors of PIPA, posted their withdrawals to either Facebook or Twitter today as well. Additionally Senators Jeff Markey (D-OR) and Allen West (R-FL) condemned the bill on Twitter. Not to be outdone, Representatives Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Mike Honda (D-CA) blacked out their websites in support.
Buzzfeed culled together “the 50 best statements by members of Congress against SOPA/PIPA.”By Josh Sternberg current.com contributor
UPDATE, 11:15 p.m. ET:... more
-
-
ctv
-
added this
-
4 months ago
- |
-
Having trouble using Wikipedia today? That's because the popular crowd-sourced online encyclopedia is participating in an "Internet blackout" in protest of two controversial anti-piracy bills: The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its Senate companion, the Protect IP Act (PIPA).
The bills are intended to strengthen protections against copyright infringement and intellectual property theft, but Internet advocates say they would stifle expression the World Wide Web. In essence, the legislation has pitted content providers -- like the music and film industries -- against Silicon Valley.
"It's not a battle of left versus right," said progressive activist Adam Green, whose organization Progressive Change Campaign Committee on Tuesday hosted a press conference with opponents of the bills. "Frankly, it's a battle of old versus new."
Here's a basic look at the actions taking place today and the legislation causing all the fuss.
What's going on today?
The popular link-sharing site Reddit got the ball rolling for today's 24-hour Internet blackout. In addition to Reddit and Wikipedia, other sites participating include BoingBoing, Mozilla, WordPress, TwitPic, MoveOn.org and the ICanHasCheezBurger network. Search giant Google is showing its solidarity with a protest doodle and message: "Tell Congress: Please don't censor the web," but the site planned no complete blackout.
Other sites -- like Facebook and Twitter -- oppose the legislation in question but aren't participating in today's blackout.
In addition to the Internet-based protests, some opponents are physically protesting on Wednesday outside of their congressional representatives' offices. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian said in Tuesday's press conference it will "probably be the geekiest, most rational protest ever."
What does the legislation do?
There are already laws that protect copyrighted material, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). But while the DMCA focuses on removing specific, unauthorized content from the Internet, SOPA and PIPA instead target the platform -- that is, the site hosting the unauthorized content.
The bills would give the Justice Department the power to go after foreign websites willfully committing or facilitating intellectual property theft -- "rogue" sites like The Pirate Bay. The government would be able to force U.S.-based companies, like Internet service providers, credit card companies and online advertisers, to cut off ties with those sites.
Why content providers want SOPA and PIPA
Content groups like the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and business representatives like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, argue that innovation and jobs in content-creating industries are threatened by growing Internet piracy. Overseas websites, they argue, are a safe haven for Internet pirates profiting off their content.
According to the Global Intellectual Property Center, which is part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, intellectual property-intensive sectors employ more than 19 million people in the U.S. and create $7.7 trillion in gross output. Foreign website operators currently outside the bounds of U.S. law; SOPA and PIPA would help quell illegitimate Internet activity.
In a statement, former Sen. Chris Dodd, who is now chairman and CEO of the MPAA, called the blackout day a "gimmick."
"It's a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users in order to further their corporate interests," Dodd said.
CBS Corporation, which owns CBSNews.com, is a member of the Copyright Alliance -- an industry group representing content producers that supports SOPA and PIPA.
Why Internet companies oppose SOPA and PIPA
Internet companies and their investors would readily say that they're holding the "blackout" to protect their corporate interests -- and the entire burgeoning Internet-based economy.
"The success of Reddit... is one of the smaller examples of the success that has happened in our industry -- and will continue to unless bills like SOPA or PIPA become law," Ohanian said Tuesday.
Under the rules SOPA or PIPA would impose, Ohanian and others argue, start ups wouldn't be able to handle the costs that come with defending their sites against possible violations. Such sites would not be able to pay the large teams of lawyers that established sites like Google or Facebook can afford.
The legislation in question targets foreign companies whose primary purpose is to sell stolen or counterfeit goods -- but opponents say domestic companies could still be held liable for linking to their content. While sites like Reddit wouldn't have a legal duty to monitor their sites all the time, "you might have your pants sued off of you" if you don't, said Jayme White, staff director for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on international trade.
Brad Burnham, managing partner at the venture capital fund Union Square Ventures, said his company has avoided investing in companies related to the music industry because of the copyright risks -- but under the proposed legislation, that risk would hit just about any Internet company. SOPA and PIPA, he said, "takes the risk of frivolous litigation... to the entire Internet."
That should be a concern, Burnham said, when the Internet accounts for 21 percent of economic growth among developed nations, according to one study.
The impacts could go beyond the economy, some argue. Rebecca MacKinnon, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan New America Foundation, argues that if blogging platforms are motivated to monitor their content, that could have "a tremendous chilling effect on people tyring to conduct political discourse and trying to use content in a fair use context."
Where does the legislation stand?
Opponents of SOPA and PIPA celebrated when, earlier this month, authors of both bills decided to set aside the most controversial aspect of them -- language that would have let the Justice Department force Internet Service Providers to block the domains of suspected foreign "rogue" sites. Also, over the weekend, the White House suggested it wants to see modifications to the legislation.
The Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on PIPA on January 24.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who sponsored SOPA, said Tuesday he expects the committee to continue work on the House bill in February.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., meanwhile, is opposed to the legislation and will today officially introduce an alternative -- the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade (OPEN) Act. Issa said Tuesday he expects his bill to have more co-sponsors than SOPA has in the House and that "once members of Congress see a viable alternative... I think we can get to a consensus."
The OPEN Act would make the International Trade Commission, rather than the Justice Department, responsible for policing U.S. connections to foreign rogue sites. Placing that responsibility in the hands of one entity, rather than the whole court system, would make the process more transparent, Issa argues.
------------------
Video at link.Having trouble using Wikipedia today? That's because the popular crowd-sourced... more
-
-
BE SURE TO GOOGLE BOMB THIS STORY OR RANK IT UP.
Many of your major websites will be blacking out or striking for 12 hours some will be on strike for 24 hours, some search engines will censor websites to show the effect of the new bill if it was passed. Me being in the Music Industry i feel its going to effect A LOT of websites that are independent and also "content fetching sites" that deal with music, videos, photos or anything else media wise.
January 18th, 2012 is the largest online protest in history, to stop the internet censorship bills, SOPA & PIPA. Join in by blacking out your site and urging everyone you can reach to contact Congress now.
For more Details Visit...
http://sopastrike.com/#how-to-strike
Or Visit.
http://americancensorship.org
Chicago Music Promotions has already added the code into the site for automated shut down and we are on board as a major music industry portal for independent and unsigned bands in the midwest and chicago region.
http://www.chicagomusicpromotions.com
IF you do not have a website just do not use the internet for the 18th also on the link above you can sign the petition for your congress person or district ward.
Here is the Video as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HGEUhCfQ464BE SURE TO GOOGLE BOMB THIS STORY OR RANK IT UP.
Many of your major websites will... more
-
-
Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia and sixth most visited site in the world, will join websites like the content aggregator Reddit, to "go dark" on Wednesday in opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and its companion bill, the Protect IP Act (PIPA), which are currently being debated in Congress. "What these bills propose are new powers for the government — and also for private actors — to create effectively blacklists of sites that allegedly are engaging in some form of online infringement and then force service providers to block access to those sites," says Corynne McSherry, Intellectual Property Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "What we would have is a situation where the government and private actors could censor the net." Chief technology officials in the Obama administration have expressed concern about any "legislation that ... undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet." But the bill's main backers, Hollywood movie studios and music publishers, want to stop the theft of their creative content and the bills have widespread bipartisan support. A vote on SOPA is on hold in the House now, as the Senate is still scheduled vote on PIPA next Tuesday.Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia and sixth most visited site in the world, will join... more
-
-
Today, we're looking at the current.com community's response and reaction to the Stop Online Piracy Act and the fact that the bill is dead -- at least for now:
Stop Internet Privacy Act Dead on Arrival, Obama Succumbs to PressureSubmitted by massanova
Amid significant pressure from tens of thousands of internet users and major web behemoths like Google, Facebook, and Reddit, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is, in its current form, Dead on Arrival:
Misguided efforts to combat online privacy have been threatening to stifle innovation, suppress free speech, and even, in some cases, undermine national security. As of yesterday, though, there’s a lot less to worry about.
The first sign that the bills’ prospects were dwindling came Friday, when SOPA sponsors agreed to drop a key provision that would have required service providers to block access to international sites accused of piracy.
The community remains hesitant to the adminstration's actions:
nardo1224: "I will believe it when i see Obama go on national TV and announce that SOPA is dead the same way he announced the murder of Osama Bin Ladin!"
ThirdSection: "Well, let's not break out the streamers and noisemakers just yet, it's still to be seen whether Obama will follow through on his veto threat."
unimatrix0: "This is good news, SOPA and Protect IP Act are both horrible, terrible, etc. However, the headline is partisan and misleading. Obama did not succumb to pressure - Obama never supported or proposed SOPA or the Protect IP Act. The Obama administration simply did the right thing by informing congress that they oppose any legislation that would hinder free exchange on the Internet."
Wikipedia, Reddit To Shut Down Sites Wednesday To Protest Proposed Stop Online Piracy ActSubmitted by letsliveinpeace
Along with Reddit, Wikipedia announced plans to "go dark" on Wednesday in opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and the Protect IP Act (PIPA).
Chief technology officials in the Obama administration have expressed concern about any "legislation that ... undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet." But the bill's main backers, Hollywood movie studios and music publishers, want to stop the theft of their creative content and the bills have widespread bipartisan support. A vote on SOPA is on hold in the House now, as the Senate is still scheduled vote on PIPA next Tuesday.
Current Community protests SOPA/PIPA -- Are you in?Submitted by MotherforTruth
In advance of the announcement that the bill was being shelved indefinitely, current.com community members MotherforTruth and JanforGore put out a call for protest. Although SOPA is apparently off the table, Protect IP (or, PIPA) is still up for consdieration in the Senate:
All in all this is a direct attempt to limit free exchange of ideas on the Internet, the truly last bastion of freedom we have. Therefore, in response to the SOPA black out day scheduled for January 18 to coincide with witness testimony in Washington DC, we were hoping members of Current would also become involved in a site wide showing of solidarity for Internet freedom against SOPA.
Therefore, we are asking those interested in participating on January 18 to respond in this thread with the following responses: "Boycotting" or "Post about SOPA" to let us know how you intend to participate. We are also urging everyone to list this in all their groups and to come on January 18 to vote up all SOPA posts. Now we cannot force or limit anyone from posting on other topics, but to make a showing where the majority of articles on the front of the Community page would address this important topic with the responses reading "Stop SOPA" would send a message that we who use the Internet are serious about preserving its freedom.
Senate will vote on the Internet censorship on Tuesday, January 24th. You can find where your Members of Congress Stand on SOPA and PIPA http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/.
Join the discussion -- or head over to the Community page for more popular stories from the community.
Today, we're looking at the current.com community's response and reaction... more
-
