Internet Blacklist Legislation

Hello All,

There's good news and bad news on the internet censorship front. As it is always a good practice, I'll start with the good news:

From PC Magazine:

"Under the Digital Economy Act, officials were allowed to ask the court to block Web sites dedicated to copyright infringement. A review of that law, however, 'concluded the provisions as they stand would not be effective, according to U.K. communications regulator Ofcom (Office of Communications). As a result, "the Government will not bring forward the Act’s site-blocking provisions at this time.'"

Yes, the key words are "at this time," but clearly there are major questions about the viability of such censorship-oriented legislation.  Unfortunately, the chorus of sycophants and bootlickers called the U.S. Congress is planning its own version of such a law:

The Internet Blacklist Bill -- S.968, formally called the PROTECT IP Act -- would allow the Department of Justice to force search engines, browsers, and service providers to block users' access to websites that have been accused of facilitating intellectual property infringement -- without even giving them a day in court.  It would also give IP rights holders a private right of action, allowing them to sue to have sites prevented from operating.

Short of armed insurrection, the only way to prevent such legislation from being passed on behalf of big business and the entertainment industry is to make our voices heard loud and clear to the sheep on the hill. To do so, please click the link below:

Demand Progress Form Letter 

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Three Strikes and No Internet!

U.S. internet users are now facing the possibility of something many European users have been dealing with for a while: a so called "three strikes" policy legally required of  ISPs in order to control "illegal" file sharing. Here's how it works:

If you are accused by your ISP of downloading or streaming 3 or more "illegal" files, they can:

• Limit ("throttle-down") your internet band-with and speed

• Limit access to the world wide web

• Control specific website access

• Require offending user to undergo re-education ("pirate school") in the form of an online course on copyright law

• Ban user from internet access

Such legislation has already been passed in France and the U.K., and now, there are rumblings emanating from the entertainment industry that the MPAA and RIAA are pushing ISPs such as Comcast, AT&T and others to voluntarily comply with such a practice (evidently to skip over the legislative part), and of course, they are caving to the pressure. From Jerod Moya, Zeropaid.com, on the European laws:

"'We welcome the recognition by the UK government – as with increasing numbers of countries around the world – that ISPs have an important role to play in protecting creators and preserving the Internet as an engine of economic growth and a platform for innovative business models,' says RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Bainwol. 'To be sure, the more this trend goes global, the greater the possibilities are for a thriving music marketplace that better serves the creators of music and their fans.'

The DEB [Digital Economy Bill] includes website filtering, a ban on open Wi-Fi, and a “three-strikes” regime that would disconnect accused file-sharers from the Internet. It forces ISPs to change from neutral “dumb pipe” broadband providers to “protectors” of the Internet that root out copyright infringement at every turn.

One of the problems is that it invests heavily in the notion that increased scrutiny of Internet users for signs of illegal file-sharing, and then sanctioning them accordingly, will somehow turn them into paying customers. It doesn’t address the core issue of the music industry’s failure to develop a business model that convinces them to buy on their own. The Internet is instead molded to suit the needs of private businesses.

Worse still, as we’ve already seen in France after passage of its own “3-strikes” bill, P2P users will by in large simply switch to alternative methods of acquiring copyrighted material. In the case of France, 2/3 of former P2P users simply switched to non-P2P alternative. like illegal streaming sites and HTTP-based download services (i.e. Rapidshare), but other options like VPNs, Usenet, etc., still remain.

But, a desperate music industry doesn’t seem to care, and as usual, is blinded by its own ignorance."

What can we do? Well, we can start by letting the ISPs know that by adopting such policing measures, they will be alienating their profit source: the customers. To do so, click the link below and sign the petition. Thank you for reading.

Demand Progress Petition

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If you reside in a country that has implemented such a law, please leave a comment and share your experience. Thank you!

Karaoke a Felony?

Well, in some cases, I guess it should be, but all jokes aside, that elitist and out-of-touch institution called the U.S. Congress has recently introduced a new bill (S. 978, The "Ten Strikes" bill) at the behest of the entertainment industry that would effectively make it a FELONY to stream copyrighted content, such as music on a Youtube video, more than ten times. Yes, I said a FELONY. From Demand Progress:

"As the writers at TechDirt point out, under this bill you could go to jail for posting video of your friends singing karaoke:

'The entertainment industry is freaking out about sites that embed and stream infringing content, and want law enforcement to put people in jail over it, rather than filing civil lawsuits.... We already pointed to one possibility: that people embedding YouTube videos could face five years in jail. Now, others are pointing out that it could also put kids who lip sync to popular songs, and post the resulting videos on YouTube, in jail as well.'"

This is just the latest example of the short-sighted greed of the entertainment industry and the subservience of elected officials to this industry's censorship agenda. Entertainment-related profits have never been higher, but this isn't enough. Apparently, people need to have their lives ruined for sharing some music with other people, because, of course, such a use could never ALSO function as a form of promotion could it? (sarcasm). Hey Warner, Sony, EMI, Universal, RIAA, and MPAA:  FUCK YOU!

Send Protest Email to Congress 

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COICA Rears It's Ugly Head Again Under a New Guise

You might remember hearing about COICA, a piece of legislation called the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeit Act that was authored by U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) & Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Fortunately, the bill was defeated last fall; however, a new legislative session is upon us and these tenacious corporate sycophants have decided to re-introduce the bill under an ominously misleading (and ironic) new name: the Protect IP Act. This new piece of legislation would effectively institute a broad range of censorship capabilities that makes China's draconian measures look tame. I quote from Demand Progress:

"Senators Leahy and Hatch pretended to weigh free speech concerns as they revised the bill [COICA]. Instead, the new legislation would institute a China-like censorship regime in the United States, whereby the Department of Justice could force search engines, browsers and service providers [meaning IPs] to block users' access to websites, and scrub the American internet of any trace of their existence. Furthermore, it wouldn't just be the Attorney General who could add sites to the blacklist, but the new bill would allow any copyright holder to get sites blacklisted."

I know many of us cling to a belief that if such a bill were to be passed and signed into law, we'd simply find ways to work around or subvert it, but it's time to wake up and realize there is a battle on the horizon between public interests (meaning you & me) and the interests of the corporate elite and their elected lapdogs who do their bidding in Congress over control of what we call the internet. This particular bill relates to the U.S. only, but this is a growing concern worldwide; in fact, many of you might already be experiencing government-sanctioned internet censorship.

If you happen to be in the U.S., I implore you to educate yourself about this issue before it's too late!

Demand Progress Petition

Bash the Fash

 Music Sharers: This could possibly be our future (albeit in metaphorical form). Better keep a box of bear-claws handy (or jelly-filled)

COICA Is Back!

Proving the old adage that old corporate whores never go away, U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) & Orrin Hatch (R-UT) are currently trying to revive the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA). If this Orwellian piece of shite legislation is ever passed (and it is a real possibility), the U.S. Government will obtain wide-ranging powers to censor online content. Of course, this is all about the entertainment industry and their well-paid lobbyists finding a couple of corporate lackeys in the Senate (not a hard thing to find there) to do their bidding. I suggest you familiarize yourself with this issue and make your voice of resistance heard:

COICA Fact Sheet

Read the Bill Itself

Also, familiarize yourself with the pasty face of this "so-called" public servant who is perfectly happy to usher the U.S. into an era of Chinese government-style internet censorship:

 "Drop those drawers boys and wait for me in the woodshed!"

 Oh what a dream I had...

Internet "Kill" Switch (Seriously)

Apparently, the recent unrest in Egypt has inspired U.S. Senate Republican (what a shock!) Susan Collins to resurrect a dead piece of legislation, which would make it legal for the U.S. Government to effectively "shut down" the internet in order to, as she puts it, "protect against 'significant' cyber threats before they cause damage." What's interesting about this typically crackpot (and un-Constitutional) idea is its timing. Coming on the heels of the recent internet shutdown in Egypt to quell mass anti-government protests, it's not hard to read between the lines of what Collins really means by "'significant' cyber threats." The language of the legislation of course pays lip-service to "First Amendment rights," but so did the actual language of The Patriot Act legislation, and we all know how that turned out!  Isn't it wonderful having all these dedicated freedom fighters protecting us from the evil forces lurking out there in the badlands of cyberspace?

Bash the Fash

 Sen. Collins: "You powerless morons better behave yourselves out there, or I just might take away your internet!"

Mandatory Internet IDs on the Horizon?

First it was the infamous COICA legislation, now U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has decided that what the internet needs is mandatory ID cards. Apparently, Locke is hard at work developing a program titled "National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace." These cyber-IDs would be used for all transactions with the U.S. Government and (I'm assuming U.S.) businesses who opt into the program. What is most troubling about all this is the precedent it sets. If every U.S. citizen is issued an internet ID, how simple and enticing would it be for the government, at the behest of private interests, to require the use of such an ID for all internet-related transactions and communications? This would have a devastating effect on the concept of internet privacy. While Locke's program would only have purview over U.S. citizens, it's not hard to imagine other governments following suit. Let's face it, the internet as we know and love it is under siege by private (usually corporate) interests in the guise of publicly-elected government officials.  Those of us who value our privacy on the internet need to voice our resistance. Below are links to further analysis of the proposed program and a DemandProgress petition to Gary Locke :

Electronic Frontier Foundation Analysis

Petition Gary Locke

Bash the Fash

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke: "Go ahead, laugh at my tie you fuckers- my next projects are a P2P surveillance system and a porn-eradication machine!"

Senator Ron Wyden: Thank You For Fighting Internet Censorship!

I'm not a big fan of the U.S. legislative process and generally feel little more than a frustrated disdain for those involved in the day-to-day machinations of our "representative" oligarchy; however, when credit is due, credit is due. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, is a U.S. Senator from Oregon who recently prevented the dreaded internet censorship bill COICA (Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act) from passage during the most recent legislative session. Do you think he's a FLAC kind of guy? Anyway, it's terrifying to think that a lone Senator from Oregon, who, for whatever reason, has a conscience, is all that stands between us and a "brave new world" of corporate interests using government authority to determine what we can and cannot express in cyber-space. Yay! Senator Wyden!- keep up the good fight; I only wish I was more of a man of faith...

Sign the Original Anti-Blacklist Petition

Support the Senator with a Conscience

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I never realized how difficult it is to find a cool photo of a politician. I settled on this one because I can picture him saying, "Back off you corporate lackeys! This simply isn't going to happen on my watch!"

The Case Against COICA (Combatting Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act)

Here's a more detailed analysis of this corporate-backed government attempt to establish broad censorship powers over the way we engage with the internet. This is from Peter Eckersley of the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

The Case Against COICA

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The Rise of Web Censorship Courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The following is quoted from Demonoid.me:

"On Thursday, the 25th of November 2010, the Torrent Finder domain ( www.torrent-finder.com ), registered with Godaddy, was seized by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without any prior takedown notice or specific allegations of infringing activity. The Domain IP was suddenly changed without the registrar's knowledge and the system displayed a "Pending Registry Action" message on the domain's status. No contact was given until Wednesday, the 1st of December, when Godaddy replied to my inquiries, giving a contact for an ICE agent. On Thursday, the 2nd of December, David Snead who is representing Torrent Finder contacted the ICE agent in charge who told him that "the orders are under seal, but that the seal will be lifted today or tomorrow". However, we have not heard from them until writing this post. Another email from Godaddy clarified that the action was taken by VeriSign: "please understand that these actions were taken by Verisign at the Registry level; and not by Go Daddy". The story was first reported on TorrentFreak and NYTimes.com."

Show Support for Torrent-Finder

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Stop the Spread of COICA! (no, it's not an STD)

The U.S. Senate is mulling over a piece of legislation titled "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act" (COICA). If passed, this law will allow the U.S. government, as a proxy for the media companies, to censor the internet as it sees fit, much like the governments in China and Iran do; however, there is a troubling difference: the websites the U.S. government decides to censor will be completely removed from the internet and not just in the U.S.  The following is a Huffington Post article containing more specific info:

David Segal- "Stop the Internet Blacklist"

The following link is a petition to alert the Senate that we "masses" will not stand for this hand-in-glove attempt by media corporations and the U.S. government to legitimize censorship of the internet in the name of greed and small-mindedness:

Demand Progress petition to stop internet censorship

Bash the Fash