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An Attempt to Censor the Internet in the United States - PROTECT IP Act - Stop Online Piracy Act
FluTrackers is concerned about freedom and human rights. Our ability to freely speak our minds.
It seems there is a constant challenge to our natural rights. This past year we saw the chilling effects of the Righthaven partnership. Thankfully federal judges have expanded "fair use" under the law and it appears the Righthaven copyright "business model" is becoming defunct.
Now there are proposed bills in the US congress that will allow the government to shut down "rogue" sites. The government has already shut many sites claiming copyright infringement.
Sound like China?
China Seizes Websites, Clamps Down On Speech... Uses Copyright Infringement As The Excuse
from the but-of-course dept
We noted recently that China had promised the US it would ramp up efforts to "stop online piracy" in China, though at about the same time, we also had noted that it had ramped up its online censorship apparatus. Once again, the two things go hand in hand, as China has shut down hundreds of sites, and put greater restrictions on the web, increasing the overall censorship via The Great Firewall of China. And... it's using copyright law as the excuse. Apparently some of the websites seized were distributing infringing files, so now China can claim that it's just doing the same thing the US is doing, when it puts massive restrictions on the internet and seizes websites.
No. It is the US:
US goes on offense against digital piracy
2011/05/28
By Rich Gardella and Jamie Forzato, NBC News
Amid growing calls for more government regulation of the Internet, the United States is conducting what it calls "a sustained law enforcement initiative aimed at counterfeiting and piracy" – an effort that already has resulted in arrests and the seizure of 125 websites.
snip
"American business is threatened by those who produce counterfeit trademarked goods and pirate copyrighted materials," ICE Director John Morton said Wednesday in a press release announcing the seizures. "From counterfeit pharmaceuticals and electronics to pirated movies, music, and software, IP thieves undermine the U.S. economy and jeopardize public safety. Our efforts through this operation successfully disrupt the ability of criminals to purvey counterfeit goods and copyrighted materials illegally over the Internet."
more...
http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_ne...digital-piracy
Of course, the owners of material deserve to be financially compensated for their work. There are other solutions to online piracy besides granting the government broad powers to shut down sites. Eric Schmidt of Google recommends "regulations based on tracing payments spent at websites offering illegal materials."
And who decides what is a "rogue" site?
We agree with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and many others who fear these bills will act to censor the internet. (hat tip Emily):
NOVEMBER 15, 2011 - 5:19PM | BY PARKER HIGGINS AND TREVOR TIMM
An Explosion of Opposition to the Internet Blacklist Bill
On the eve of the House Judiciary Committee's hearing on the Stop Internet Piracy Act—where five witnesses will appear in favor of the bill to just one against—a broad group of tech companies, lawmakers, experts, professors, and rights groups have come out against the bill.
The statements, written by people from a variety of backgrounds and political persuasions, incorporate many of the same broad themes: SOPA will threaten perfectly legal websites, stifle innovation, kill jobs, and substantially disrupt the infrastructure of the Internet. Here is a small sample of what they had to say:
A veritable Who's Who of tech giants—including Facebook, Google, Twitter, eBay, Yahoo, AOL and Mozilla—explicitly came out against both SOPA and PROTECT-IP in a letter to the ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees:
more....
Who can blame the powers that be? The internet has functioned to shift power from a tiny minority of the world's population to the common man. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can ustream an event - and they do.
A free and open press is a threat to the rich and powerful. It is the same with the internet.
We are all reporters now.
It seems there is a constant challenge to our natural rights. This past year we saw the chilling effects of the Righthaven partnership. Thankfully federal judges have expanded "fair use" under the law and it appears the Righthaven copyright "business model" is becoming defunct.
Now there are proposed bills in the US congress that will allow the government to shut down "rogue" sites. The government has already shut many sites claiming copyright infringement.
Sound like China?
China Seizes Websites, Clamps Down On Speech... Uses Copyright Infringement As The Excuse
from the but-of-course dept
We noted recently that China had promised the US it would ramp up efforts to "stop online piracy" in China, though at about the same time, we also had noted that it had ramped up its online censorship apparatus. Once again, the two things go hand in hand, as China has shut down hundreds of sites, and put greater restrictions on the web, increasing the overall censorship via The Great Firewall of China. And... it's using copyright law as the excuse. Apparently some of the websites seized were distributing infringing files, so now China can claim that it's just doing the same thing the US is doing, when it puts massive restrictions on the internet and seizes websites.
No. It is the US:
US goes on offense against digital piracy
2011/05/28
By Rich Gardella and Jamie Forzato, NBC News
Amid growing calls for more government regulation of the Internet, the United States is conducting what it calls "a sustained law enforcement initiative aimed at counterfeiting and piracy" – an effort that already has resulted in arrests and the seizure of 125 websites.
snip
"American business is threatened by those who produce counterfeit trademarked goods and pirate copyrighted materials," ICE Director John Morton said Wednesday in a press release announcing the seizures. "From counterfeit pharmaceuticals and electronics to pirated movies, music, and software, IP thieves undermine the U.S. economy and jeopardize public safety. Our efforts through this operation successfully disrupt the ability of criminals to purvey counterfeit goods and copyrighted materials illegally over the Internet."
more...
http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_ne...digital-piracy
Of course, the owners of material deserve to be financially compensated for their work. There are other solutions to online piracy besides granting the government broad powers to shut down sites. Eric Schmidt of Google recommends "regulations based on tracing payments spent at websites offering illegal materials."
And who decides what is a "rogue" site?
We agree with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and many others who fear these bills will act to censor the internet. (hat tip Emily):
NOVEMBER 15, 2011 - 5:19PM | BY PARKER HIGGINS AND TREVOR TIMM
An Explosion of Opposition to the Internet Blacklist Bill
On the eve of the House Judiciary Committee's hearing on the Stop Internet Piracy Act—where five witnesses will appear in favor of the bill to just one against—a broad group of tech companies, lawmakers, experts, professors, and rights groups have come out against the bill.
The statements, written by people from a variety of backgrounds and political persuasions, incorporate many of the same broad themes: SOPA will threaten perfectly legal websites, stifle innovation, kill jobs, and substantially disrupt the infrastructure of the Internet. Here is a small sample of what they had to say:
A veritable Who's Who of tech giants—including Facebook, Google, Twitter, eBay, Yahoo, AOL and Mozilla—explicitly came out against both SOPA and PROTECT-IP in a letter to the ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees:
more....
Who can blame the powers that be? The internet has functioned to shift power from a tiny minority of the world's population to the common man. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can ustream an event - and they do.
A free and open press is a threat to the rich and powerful. It is the same with the internet.
We are all reporters now.
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