FUCK SOPA & PIPA! (Say goodbye to Freedom of Speech, guys!)

Mr. Fancy Pants said:

Good luck finding a country where the politicians actually aren't self-righteous, superreligious and/or in possession of similar flaws.

Plus, as has been extensively stated, getting out of the country won't change much -- it's a global issue.

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I was tired when I wrote that. But my point still stands. I don't want to live in the country that destroyed the internet.

As for politics... Well, this is an old one, but "poli-" means "many" and ticks are little bloodsucking insects.

I don't get why MegaUpload was closed. Just because people use your service to host illegal files doesn't mean the service itself is illegal.

If this was true, they should close YouTube for hosting entire anime episodes and movies. Isn't that copyright infringement as well?

One thing I hate in all this is that the news reports keep saying "SOPA this, PIPA that" but no one explains WTF are the specifics of what these bills are trying to restrict. I want to know the enemy I'm fighting against. "Know yourself and your enemy, and you should not fear the result of 100 battles." (Sun Tzu)

Cerberus said:

I don't get why MegaUpload was closed. Just because people use your service to host illegal files doesn't mean the service itself is illegal.

If this was true, they should close YouTube for hosting entire anime episodes and movies. Isn't that copyright infringement as well?

One thing I hate in all this is that the news reports keep saying "SOPA this, PIPA that" but no one explains WTF are the specifics of what these bills are trying to restrict. I want to know the enemy I'm fighting against. "Know yourself and your enemy, and you should not fear the result of 100 battles." (Sun Tzu)

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This post does a good job explaining why megaupload was shut down, and before that went up I read enough of the indictment to see that yeah, they are Way Fucked.


You have the internet; use it.

MelloScreamsKillerKarma said:

I actually don't give a shit. Who cares if the government has access to my web history? They're already tapping all my texts and phone calls. Honestly, the government doesn't care what random crap you do on your computer. It's only a problem if you're actually involved in something sketchy.

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This is a terrible attitude! 'If you have nothing to hide then you have nothing to worry about' is not only a creepy statement overall, it's also an invasion of the natural right to privacy. Why not just spy on everyone, or put up government monitoring cameras? Unless you're doing something bad you shouldn't be objecting to it, right? Who cares if the government can pry into something they have no business with on the flimsiest of excuses, it's for the greater good, right?

Freedom isn't freedom if the jailor follows you around for the rest of your life.

ultraviolet said:

get back (link redacted)

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Sorry, didn't read the rest of this post, but that link is not legit! That site is basically an automated version of Anonymous' Low Orbit Ion Cannon, a thingy (currently) set up to DDOS the US Department of Justice and some other Official Sites and clicking it powers it up using your internet connection. That shit's illegal.

Anyways.

PIPA and SOPA are still a trouble, but they're mostly out of the picture for now.

But we have another problem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=citzRjwk-sQ

Not only will this bill do what was said in the video, but it has some of the same effects of PIPA and SOPA.

Leave us alone, government.

Media companies, you make enough money, STOP BEING GREEDY BASTARDS.

Meursault said:

Sorry, didn't read the rest of this post, but that link is not legit! That site is basically an automated version of Anonymous' Low Orbit Ion Cannon, a thingy (currently) set up to DDOS the US Department of Justice and some other Official Sites and clicking it powers it up using your internet connection. That shit's illegal.

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Oh, wow. Thanks for the heads-up, will remove the link.

Thing with ACTA is that I never see brought up anywhere is that NZ basically already has a smaller version of it in effect, or at least the aspects that pertain to filesharing are. Back in November it got passed quickly using the Christchurch eathquakes as a reason to speed up the process and people only knew about it like a week or two in advance. It has the thing where doing anything torrented or peer to peer is basically suicide, there's no court ruling, comes with the 3-strike thing and on the 3rd strike you lose internet access for 6 months (!!!!!!!!!!!!) along with a fine. I think the biggest difference is that the copyright owner has to tell the ISP of infringement instead of the ISP being held responsible, and the drugs and seeds things aren't affect. Still something interesting to think about, but ACTA sounds much worse if the ISPs are going to be like... tracking what you do. That's scary. How would they even do that with all the people that use the internet :?

also here's something else for discussion: OPEN. Thoughts?

I don't get why MegaUpload was closed. Just because people use your service to host illegal files doesn't mean the service itself is illegal.

If this was true, they should close YouTube for hosting entire anime episodes and movies. Isn't that copyright infringement as well?

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Something I've seen going around in regards to megaupload was they were about to introduce this thing called megabox, which would've given the option to download music for free whilst giving money to the artists (not the corporations !) by changing all ads on every website visited to be megakey ads (p. scummy actually). Which might be why it was targeted first?

also yeah under sopa/pipa youtube could technically be taken down. I'm not sure if they'd do that though since youtube already goes and takes down stuff all the time if a copyright holder (or corporation) asks for it without much resistance.

Actually, I'm living in the past :P

ACTA has already been signed and put into effect by the US. Not much changed, though, huh?

OPEN sounds nice, and the media companies are stupid. It's not 'going easy' on piracy, it's, y'know, keeping the entire internet from crumbling to it's knees.

Instead of being greedy bastards, be happy you'd get more money from OPEN as a result.

Solstice said:

Media companies, you make enough money, STOP BEING GREEDY BASTARDS.

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The way they act, it's like their only goal is to keep making money! It's like they don't care about their customers at all.

But yeah. I'm really not happy with how politics are going right now for the internet. OPEN looks less awful than SOPA/PIPA, but I still don't really like it— and if the RIAA and MPAA don't like it, either, that either makes it a perfect compromise or a worthless piece of legislation that pleases no one.

Then there's ACTA, which isn't getting half the attention SOPA/PIPA got and doing something that seems at least as bad, and wouldn't only affect the US but most other countries with an internet presence, as well.

It's upsetting.

Don't forget about the ever so lovely Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, too!

We should stop worrying about SOPA. We need to worry about ACTA.

All I'm seeing here, in all of these acts, is that the average government official isn't nearly as familiar with modern technologies as the average citizen. That's a flaw that needs to be addressed - SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, and their relatives show little understanding of the internet and its workings primarily through the fact that they directly violate our rights to privacy. Yes there are some terrible things on the internet, but the wrongdoings of few do not justify the invasion of everyone's privacy.

OPEN, however, seems like the least monstrous of this family of acts.