Stop Online Piracy Act

[RANGA+ 1,210]

 

http://news.yahoo.co...-204426388.html

 

http://en.wikipedia....line_Piracy_Act

 

http://www.wired.com...a-vote-delayed/

 

What is SOPA?

SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R.3261), which was introduced to the House in October by a bipartisan group of 12 supporters. SOPA combines two Senate bills: S.968 and S.978.

 

What would SOPA do?

The bill would set up a system for the U.S. government to enforce copyright. It would grant the U.S. Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice the power to take legal action against sites deemed to be violating copyright. SOPA would also grant the government the power to request that search engines (Google and Bing, for example), internet service providers, and social networks like Facebook block access to a site deemed to be in violation of copyright laws.

 

Currently, the terms of service agreements on most websites solely pertain to individual users when it comes to illegal content. SOPA would extend the burden of responsibility for copyright violation to the companies that deliver web content to users, as decided and ordered by the Department of Justice.

 

How would SOPA affect web users?

Beyond expanding the government's provisions for enforcing copyright laws, SOPA would also make streaming copyrighted material a felony under U.S. law, punishable by up to five years in prison.

 

Where can I read the full text of the bill?

To learn more about SOPA, you can find the bill's full text online at OpenCongress.org.

 

What action can I take?

You can easily send your Congressperson a note with your thoughts on SOPA at AmericanCensorship.org.

 

 

 

 

FUCK. THIS. SHIT.

 

This bill has the potential to completely fuck over the internet as we know it. It gives the Government faarrrr too much power over what they can do under these new "laws". Get the word out people. This bullshit needs to stop!

Edited December 18, 2011 by RANGA

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

Oh God. NO.

[Thanatos 2,847]

This was an inevitable extension of the government's power. We need to clean house, folks, or this shit is just going to get worse and worse. Conservatives and liberals get into shouting matches at each other over what to do, nothing is done, and the situation just worsens.

 

First let's stop up the leak in the boat and then we can argue over whether to go north or south. Otherwise we'll sit there and shout at each other until we sink.

Edited December 18, 2011 by Thanatos19

[Shotgun 442]

SOPA would also make streaming copyrighted material a felony under U.S. law, punishable by up to five years in prison.

 

[RazorStar 4,025]

I sure hope you guys can start a rebellion. I believe it's in your constitution to start one if the Government is unjust.

[Shotgun 442]

It's amazing what media giants can achieve when they line the pockets of lobbyists and congress to pass a bill for them.

 

Stream an episode of friends worth $3.00? Felony. Steal $299 or less worth of merchandise from a store? Misdemeanor. Beat your wife? Misdemeanor.

[Tridentdawgpound 1,043]

Yeah, free country. My ass.

[KeVo 176]

I sure hope you guys can start a rebellion. I believe it's in your constitution to start one if the Government is unjust.

I'm ready to get the torches and pitchforks out. Who is with me?

[rzb+ 367]

Anonymous to the rescue?

[Thanatos 2,847]

I'm ready to get the torches and pitchforks out. Who is with me?

 

I'm right with you, man. I'll bring my sword!

[funnygunny 521]

lol. don't worry...

 

Proposed SOPA Amendments of the Day: Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) has introduced changes to the Stop Online Piracy Act that reduce the bill’s scope and remove the ability for copyright holders to shut down any website based on mere allegations of copyright infringement.

 

Instead, the amended bill (PDF) allows judges to order ad networks not to work with sites “dedicated” to infringement, but removes the ability for the rights holders — i.e. the entertainment industry — to shut those sites down themselves.

 

The changes to the bill also specify that it applies only to foreign sites, not to sites ending in .com, .net and .org.

 

SOPA does still allow for Internet censorship, though. It lets financial institutions and ad providers boycott sites they deem “rogue operators,” and allows the Department of Justice to order ISPs to block their customers from visiting certain sites.

 

A counter-proposal currently being drafted by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Or.), who promised to filibuster SOPA if it ever came to the Senate floor, would turn over the responsibility of dealing with “rogue” websites to the International Trade Commission.

 

that's like every pirating website that exists, so it makes no difference. Gee Down n00bz.

[Shotgun 442]

It's only a proposal.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

It starts small.. it will expand in the future.

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

Looks like every other American is going to prison...

[KeVo 176]

It starts small.. it will expand in the future.

Hit the nail on the head. Leave our beautiful piracy alone.

[RANGA+ 1,210]

It starts small.. it will expand in the future.

 

Exactly. They're just getting their foot in the door. The next step is full on censorship of websites.

[BigBen07 285]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The United States government are total fucking dicks. Completely corrupt, and nearly beyond repair.

[Guest Phailadelphia]

http://motherboard.vice.com/2011/12/16/dear-congress-it-s-no-longer-ok-to-not-know-how-the-internet-works

 

I remember fondly the days when we were all tickled pink by our elected officials’ struggle to understand how the internet works. Whether it was George W. Bush referring to “the internets” or Senator Ted Stevens describing said internets as “a series of tubes,” we would sit back and chortle at our well-meaning but horribly uninformed representatives, confident that the right people would eventually steer them back on course. Well I have news for members of Congress: Those days are over.

 

• See also: What Are Our Free Speech Fail-safes If SOPA Passes?

 

We get it. You think you can be cute and old-fashioned by openly admitting that you don’t know what a DNS server is. You relish the opportunity to put on a half-cocked smile and ask to skip over the techno-jargon, conveniently masking your ignorance by making yourselves seem better aligned with the average American joe or jane — the “non-nerds” among us. But to anyone of moderate intelligence that tuned in to yesterday’s Congressional mark-up of SOPA, the legislation that seeks to fundamentally change how the internet works, you kind of just looked like a bunch of jack-asses.

 

Some background: Since its introduction, SOPA and its Senate twin PROTECT-IP have been staunchly condemned by countless engineers, technologists and lawyers intimately familiar with the inner functioning of the internet. Completely beside the fact that these bills as they currently stand would stifle free speech and potentially cripple legitimate businesses by giving corporations extrajudicial censorial powers, they have found an even more insidious threat: The method of DNS filtering proposed to block supposed infringing sites opens up enormous security holes that threaten the stability of the internet itself.

 

The only problem: Key members of the House Judiciary Committee still don’t understand how the internet works, and worse yet, it’s not clear whether they even want to.

 

It’s of course perfectly standard for members of Congress to not be exceptionally proficient in technological matters. But for some committee members, the issue did not stop at mere ignorance. Rather, it seemed there was in many cases an outright refusal to understand what is undoubtedly a complex issue dealing with highly-sensitive technologies.

 

When the security issue was brought up, Rep. Mel Watt of North Carolina seemed particularly comfortable about his own lack of understanding. Grinningly admitting “I’m not a nerd” before the committee, he nevertheless went on to dismiss without facts or justification the very evidence he didn’t understand and then downplay the need for a panel of experts. Rep. Maxine Waters of California followed up by saying that any discussion of security concerns is “wasting time” and that the bill should move forward without question, busted internets be damned.

 

The fact that there was any debate over whether to call in experts on such a matter should tell you something about the integrity of Congress. It’d be one thing if legitimate technical questions directed at the bill’s supporters weren’t met with either silence or veiled accusations that the other side was sympathetic to piracy. Yet here we are with a group of elected officials openly supporting a bill they can’t explain, and having the temerity to suggest there’s no need to “bring in the nerds” to suss out what’s actually on it.

 

“No legislation is perfect,” Rep. Watt said at one point, continuing the insane notion that the goal of the House should be to pass anything, despite what consequences it may bring. Later, Iowa Representative Steve King tweeted, somewhat ironically, about surfing the internet on his phone because he was bored listening to his colleague Shiela Jackson speak about the bill. Then, even more ironically, another representative’s comments calling him out for it were asked to be stricken from the record.

 

So it was as proponents of the Hollywood-funded bill curmudgeonly shot down all but two amendments proposed by its opponents, who fought to dramatically alter the document to preserve security and free speech on the net. But the chilling takeaway of this whole debacle was the irrefutable air of anti-intellectualism; that inescapable absurdity that we have members of Congress voting on a technical bill who do not posses any technical knowledge on the subject and do not find it imperative to recognize those who do.

 

This used to be funny, but now it’s really just terrifying. We’re dealing with legislation that will completely change the face of the internet and free speech for years to come. Yet here we are, still at the mercy of underachieving Congressional know-nothings that have more in common with the slacker students sitting in the back of math class than elected representatives. The fact that some of the people charged with representing us must be dragged kicking and screaming out of their complacency on such matters is no longer endearing — it’s just pathetic and sad.

 

Fortunately, committee members like Zoe Lofgren, Jason Chaffetz and Jared Polis are attempting to keep some semblance of sanity and reason in these debates. You can follow them live as the mark-up continues today via live stream or Twitter.

 

Reach this writer at josh@motherboard.tv

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

It starts small.. it will expand in the future. never

That's what she said...to Stevo

 

*initiates thread derailment*

[badgers 380]

Will this affect TGP in any way?

[RazorStar 4,025]

Well pretty much everyone here is gonna get arrested so... yeah.

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

Stevo gon' drop dat soap on purpose...smh

[RANGA+ 1,210]

So the filesharing site Megaupload.com was just shutdown today by the US Government and it's owner Kim Schmitz was arrested. Anonymous retaliated with DDoS attacks on the FBI, Department of Justice and US Copyright Office websites, taking all three offline in a number of minutes.

 

The digital war has begun. It's time to fight back!!!

[oochymp 2,393]

So the filesharing site Megaupload.com was just shutdown today by the US Government and it's owner Kim Schmitz was arrested. Anonymous retaliated with DDoS attacks on the FBI, Department of Justice and US Copyright Office websites, taking all three offline in a number of minutes.

 

The digital war has begun. It's time to fight back!!!

this really just begs the question is SOPA even necessary? I had thought, but wasn't sure until I saw this, that the Government could already shut a site down and take action for egregious violations (according to this Washington Post article, "Megaupload's executives made more than $175 million through subscription fees and online ads while robbing authors, movie producers, musicians and other copyright holders of more than $500 million.") if SOPA is aimed at giving the feds a mechanism for enforcement, doesn't this show that the mechanism is already there?

Edited January 20, 2012 by oochymp

[NaTaS+ 958]

Both bills have been delayed. The internets voice was heard loud and clear. The problem is that more bills like this will continue to be pushed and it's up to use to squash them when they do come. The internet is still young.