Protect-IP :O

[FSX_Dude]

In the united states, congress is trying to pass "US Senate Bill S.968" which will allow all internet to be censored in the USA. AKA, "PROTECT IP, which is an acronym for

[Bud Greene]

I was under the impression that the government already does this, albeit without regards to privacy laws.  They just wish to make it legal.

[Club508]

Thing is, it says to ECONOMIC CREATIVITY, and theft of intellectual property.
It's not right to steal people's ideas, and they'll basically be protecting our right of freedom of speech won't they? :-?

[FSX_Dude]

Thing is, it says to ECONOMIC CREATIVITY, and theft of intellectual property.
It's not right to steal people's ideas, and they'll basically be protecting our right of freedom of speech won't they? :-?

There taking away our freedoms slowly. (so people won't become aware)

[Steve M]

When I first read about this it had an innocent tilt. The bill was lobbied heavily by well to do artists, musicians and film industry in order to control piracy. But now, it has been written in a broader context it seems.   :-/ 

[FSX_Dude]

[quote]When I first read about this it had an innocent tilt. The bill was lobbied heavily by well to do artists, musicians and film industry in order to control piracy. But now, it has been written in a broader context it seems.

[machineman9]

I made a big massive post about PIP, but I have deleted it and having done some more reading, I am slightly less opposed to the idea.

Protect IP act will allow the courts to prosecute people who host websites for the explicit act of hosting illegal content. It will also give them powers to erase hyperlinks that then link to those websites. If it's put that way, then yeahhhh I can kind of see where they're going with that. The bit I disagree with is one of the major parts of the SOPA act, which I shall move onto...



SOPA is the act giving US the rights to get court orders against websites outside of the USA. PIP will also try to stop websites outside of the USA, but SOPA is really the act that gives them the powers to do so.

What, wait? No, really... They're creating an act to let themselves go after people and hosts in other countries. That's like a kids game where one of them sets the rules that he is allowed to punch the other kids, but they can't hit back or use their own opinions on the matter. I just don't get it... Some countries have laws which makes it legal to host 'illegal' material, but you can't grant yourself the power to track down people inside that country - The internet is global and it is owned by the users. It's a case of "America - World Police" stepping in again. As far as I am currently aware, you must ask another country to arrest a certain person and deport them - You can't just walk in and arrest them or whatever.


Given all of this, I am refusing to purchase my web space in the US. I will use UK servers... I cannot trust the USA to not block my site (I don't plan on hosting anything illegal, but they clearly don't understand web-logistics) so I will give my money back to the UK economy. I will do business with UK hosts, UK advertisers and, where possible, UK subsidaries of search engines. I mean, they plan on blocking Flickr under SOPA - I suggest everyone affected sends their premium membership bill to congress - They can refund me the difference.

Whatever the verdict, one thing is clear - If people want illegal content, PIP and SOPA will not stop it. The internet is beyond anyones control. Nobody has a switch to the internet. It cannot be shut down, it cannot be controlled. If you block off the roads out of a city, those who are smuggling may just take the route of the sewers.

[ozzy72]

Spain is introducing similar laws at the moment. Unfortunately piracy and intellectual copyright theft are the issue.
However I don't think any law, no matter how draconian, will stop piracy.
Look on the bright side, you're still better off than those in Belarus http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16407235

[Xpand]

Aw come on... Intelectual property theft is something that has been around since the beggining of man-kind. We're a colective species and our knowledge is based on someone else's ideas that were based off someone else's ideas. That's how it works. The internet has a few security problems that's for sure, but if the artists (or, to be more exact, the producers) didn't want their work to be "stolen" they shouldn't have put it on the internet. Everything you put online is going to be public domain no matter what you try to do. Sooner or later some people will be able to download your work for free. Now what the U.S. government is trying to do is basically control EVERY SINGLE website, and since most of them are based on the US it seems to me that we will be seeing the internet being cleared up from one day to another...

[ozzy72]

Xpand, does someone who buys a CD then puts it up for everyone to download breach the law in your view?
The artists, producers and record labels didn't ask for their labours to be put onto a Torrent site for example.
The problem is a) our political leaders/lawmakers are of a generation that don't understand the technology b) a lot of the people doing file sharing are underage and therefore consider themselves exempt from the law.
Like I said draconian laws or otherwise, they're not going to stamp out piracy, even if these laws are made with good intent.

[Xpand]

But that's the point, even CDs have anti piracy measures that avoid its contents from being copied and yet people manage to do that. I remember the SEGA CDs had that in the 90s and it didn't last more than a few years before someone cracked the contents open and started making bootleg CDs. You can't stop piracy no matter what you try. Heck, if that's so, then youtube breaks the law every single day by publishing content in their home page without asking the creators of the video for consent. 

[ozzy72]

I wholeheartedly agree with you. Alas there is no golden bullet to solve these problems. Alas governments and lawyers tend not to think in those terms....
I wish I knew the solution, it'd make me seriously rich 8-)

[machineman9]

[quote]You can't stop piracy no matter what you try. Heck, if that's so, then youtube breaks the law every single day by publishing content in their home page without asking the creators of the video for consent.

[expat]

The problem is, the vast majority of people do not regard downloading as theft and that is the be all and end all of the whole thing. It is seen as a victimless crime. Shoplifting is a real crime, walking out of a shop with goods in your arms carries the very real risk of ending up in front of a judge. So far the only people who have been prosecuted for downloading have been considered the real victims by many, many people and very unlucky to have been caught.
Maybe the authorities should take a different approach. If you download and a caught, you are charged with receiving stolen goods.......
Lastly, do I, no, and why, because in Germany, that is what is happening and