Thread: STOP SOPA, SAVE THE INTERNET

STOP SOPA, SAVE THE INTERNET

By Cory Doctorow at 8:51 am Friday, Nov 11

Video at the link: http://boingboing.net/2011/11/11/stop-s ... ernet.html

Google knows it. Viacom knows it. The Chamber of Commerce knows it. Internet democracy groups know it. BoingBoing knows it. But, the Internet hasn't been told yet -- we're going to get blown away by the end of the year. The worst bill in Internet history is about to become law. Law is very real here in the United States and legal language is often different than stated intentions -- this law would give government and corporations the power to block sites like BoingBoing over infringing links on at least one webpage posted by their users. Believe the EFF, Public Knowledge, Google when they say this bill is about much more than copyright, it's about the Internet and free speech everywhere.

The MPAA, RIAA, Hollywood knows that they have been flying in CEOs of as many companies as possible, recruiting people to get petition signups at malls in California, and here's the big point-- they know they have gotten their message through to Congress -- the worst bill in Internet history, the one where government and their corporations get unbelievable power to take down sites, threaten payment processors into stopping payment to sites on a blacklist, and throw people in jail for posting ordinary content is about to pass before the end of this year. The only thing that is going to stop Hollywood from owning the Internet and everything we do, is if there is a big surprise Internet backlash starting right now.

PROTECT IP (S. 96/SOPA (HR. 3261) creates the first system for Internet censorship - this bill has sweeping provisions that give the government and corporations leeway and legal cover for taking down sites "by accident," mistakenly, or for NOT doing "enough" to protect the interests of Hollywood. These bills that are moving very quickly through Congress and can pass before Christmas aim to give the US government and corporations the ability to block sites over infringing links posted by their users and give ISPs the release to take any means to block peoples' sites, including slowing down your connection. That's right, some say this bill is a workaround to net neutrality and is bigger than net neutrality.

This is the worst piece of Internet legislation in history - the lawmakers who have been sponsoring (Leahy, Lamar Smith, Conyers) this bill need to be shamed by the Internet community for wasting taxpayer dollars on a bill that would break the very fabric of the Internet, create an Internet blacklist, kill jobs and great startup companies, huge blogs, and social networks.

Everyone, the entire Internet community needs to stand together if we don't want to see this bill actually become law. Internet and democracy groups are planning an Internet-wide day of protest called American Censorship Day on Wednesday, November 16th for the day Congress holds a hearing on these bills to create the first American Internet censorship system. Every single person with a website can join and needs to.

Boing Boing, Grooveshark, Free Software Foundation, The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge, Demand Progress, Open Congress/PPF, TechDirt, Fight for the Future and dozens of other sites have created this day to ask you to join them to stop S. 978 and HR 3261, as hard as you can. Write them, protest, call them, protest, support your favorite sites, protest, sign a letter, block out your site, protest.

Many public intellectuals who are often the ones to help win the public interest over and over are about to come out to lead the charge to stop PROTECT IP/ SOPA - they have to when they learn that the House and Senate will be working to pass this bill before the Christmas. From those doing work on the hill, it's very clear we have been stacked comparatively lightly. The House bill has 40 co-sponsors and major industry support. The only thing that will change the dynamic now is if Congress gets a knock on their door by CEO"s of small and large tech companies, blogs, and news sites and if Internet users start piling on, one by one, and protest.

Tech companies, blogs, news sites are already in a death-do-die battle cry -- listen to them -- it's a few days before the hearing on this bill. But, we need more tech companies, blogs, new sites before the hearing on this bill. Help get them.

I've been trying to think about whether or not the world is going to end if this bill passes like it's supposed to -- and the answer is, "kind of yes". When small sites, and it's the small sites that get turned off in the night and no one for the most part notices, say my friend's political blog or news site gets blocked by the US government and she has no way to get it back up even though everything she did was legal according to current law, and no one can help her except she can choose to file suit to defend herself, I feel like I die inside a little. Living in a country where you are being shut out and left powerless to really defend yourself is like living in another country, the ones you hear about. Life starts to feel shot when that happens, especially to our friends or our favorites sites.

Every site who has user-generated content, posts links or videos to anything copyrighted in it could face new legal threats.

If a copyrights holder disliked links you have on your site, they could simply file a complaint with a payment processor (Visa, PayPal), who would then have 5 days to respond to their request or risk legal ramifications. If bills like this are allowed to pass, we'll be spending another $47 million dollars every year to help corporations fill out and enforce Internet blacklists.

Sites that would be legal under the DMCA and its safe harbor provisions would now risk losing everything for allowing user generated content. It also has added in the streaming felony bill that would make it so ordinary Internet users are at risk of going to jail for 5 years for post any copyrighted work that would cost $2,500 to license. And because copyright is so broad, that means videos with copyrighted music in the background, kids in a school play, people singing karaoke could all be a risk.

Because the law affects almost every Internet user and the sites they use every day and have come to love, and because granting sweeping blacklisting powers is just sickening to almost everyone, we need your help -- if you can encourage your favorite site to join the protest, and help drive the maximum number of people to contact Congress on November 16th (until the bill dies), please help.

These bills represent a major blow to openness and freedom on the Internet, free speech rights, and the fabric of the Internet itself. If SOPA is allowed to pass, the Internet and free speech will never be the same again.

SOPA: Hollywood Finally Gets A Chance to Break the Internet (EFF) https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/10/s ... k-Internet

House takes Senate's bad Internet censorship bill, tries making it worse (Ars Technica) http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news ... -worse.ars

Protect The Internet (Brad Feld) http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2011/10 ... ernet.html

Protecting The Safe Harbors Of The DMCA And Protecting Jobs (Business Insider) http://www.businessinsider.com/protecti ... bs-2011-10

S.978 - Commercial Felony Streaming Act http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s978/show


http://boingboing.net/2011/11/11/stop-s ... ernet.html

Amazing! Almost 500,000 signers from across the globe in just one day -- sign below and forward this email to grow our call

Dear friends across the US,


Right now, Congress is debating a law that would give them the power to censor the world's Internet -- creating a blacklist that could target YouTube, WikiLeaks and even Avaaz! Now if we stand with key members of Congress, we can defeat this attempt at global Internet censorship. Click here and help build a national outcry calling for a free and open Internet:



Right now, Congress is debating a law that would give them the power to censor the world's Internet -- creating a blacklist that could target YouTube, WikiLeaks and even groups like Avaaz!

Under the new law, our government could force Internet providers to block any website on suspicion of violating copyright or trademark legislation, or even failing to sufficiently police their users' activities. And, because so much of the Internet's hosts and hardware are located here in the US, their blacklist would clamp down on the free web for all of us in America and millions across the world.

We only have days before the vote but we can help stop this -- champions in Congress want to preserve free speech and tell us that a global outcry would strengthen their hand. Let's urgently raise our voices from every corner of America and join Avaaz members across the world to build a massive call urging our decision makersto reject the bill and stop Internet censorship. Click below to sign and then forward as widely as possible -- our message will be delivered directly to key members of the US Congress ahead of the crucial vote:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_us_a/?vl

For years, our government has condemned countries like China and Iran for their clampdown on Internet use. But now, the impact of these new censorship laws could be far worse -- effectively blocking sites not only in the US but also to every Internet user across the globe.

Last year, a similar Internet censorship bill was killed before reaching the Senate floor, but it's now back in a different form. Copyright laws already exist and are enforced by courts. But this new law goes much further -- granting the government and big corporations enormous powers to force service providers and search engines to block websites based just on allegations of violations -- without a trial or being found guilty of any crime!

Free speech advocates have already raised the alarm, and some key Senators are trying to gather enough support to stop this dangerous bill. We have no time to lose. Let's stand with them to ensure our lawmakers preserve the right to a free and open Internet as an essential way for people in the US and around the world to exchange ideas, share communication and work collectively to build the world we want. Sign below to stop censorship, and save the Internet as we know it:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_us_a/?vl

In the past months, from the Arab Spring to the global Occupy Movement, we've seen first hand how the Internet can galvanize, unify and change society. Now, if we stand together, we can stop this new attack on Internet freedom. We've done it before -- in Brazil and Italy, Avaaz members have won major victories in the fight for a free Internet. Let's mobilize here in the US to defeat the most powerful censorship threat that the Internet has ever seen.

With hope,

Luis, Dalia, Diego, Emma, Ricken, Aaron, Antonia, Benjamin and the rest of the Avaaz team

More information:

Op-Ed: Blacklist Bill allows Feds to remove websites from Internet (Digital Journal)
http://digitaljournal.com/article/313463

Disastrous IP Legislation Is Back – And It's Worse than Ever (EFF)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/10/d ... worse-ever

Silicon Valley legislators oppose online piracy act (SFGate)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 1LV0KI.DTL

House Hearing on Stop Online Piracy Act Scheduled (PC World)
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/a ... duled.html

Growing Chorus of Opposition to "Stop Online Piracy Act"
https://www.cdt.org/report/growing-chor ... piracy-act

The stop online piracy act: summary, problems, and implications
https://www.cdt.org/files/pdfs/SOPA%202 ... 0final.pdf

Why Is Justin Bieber So Pissed Off?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-k ... 71055.html

Stop Online Piracy Act
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112h ... 3261ih.pdf

PROTECT IP Act
http://leahy.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/B ... TIPAct.pdf



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I listen to both the right and the left side of politics to keep informed...looks like this is proof that both the left (Dems) and right (Repubs) are united against the people of the United States...they're just often like two wolf packs fighting over the same prey...they are not united in their approach in how to destroy us, but they are united to take the U.S. down for their own selfish gain.

Originally Posted by sacredrage

I listen to both the right and the left side of politics to keep informed...looks like this is proof that both the left (Dems) and right (Repubs) are united against the people of the United States...they're just often like two wolf packs fighting over the same prey...they are not united in their approach in how to destroy us, but they are united to take the U.S. down for their own selfish gain.

In other words they are totally united in our distruction but not in the car to drive US there,one wants to drive US there in a Caddy, the other a Buick...big deal....

Originally Posted by kathyet

In other words they are totally united in our distruction but not in the car to drive US there,one wants to drive US there in a Caddy, the other a Buick...big deal....

kathyet, that's EXACTLY what I'm saying!! It's like the lion and the hyena (both natural rivals of one another) asking the antelope which one would the antelope prefer to devour him, the lion or the hyena? Either way, the antelope winds up dead!

Originally Posted by sacredrage

Originally Posted by kathyet

In other words they are totally united in our distruction but not in the car to drive US there,one wants to drive US there in a Caddy, the other a Buick...big deal....

kathyet, that's EXACTLY what I'm saying!! It's like the lion and the hyena (both natural rivals of one another) asking the antelope which one would the antelope prefer to devour him, the lion or the hyena? Either way, the antelope winds up dead!

And do you notice many of the Sheeple don't understand that fact?

Originally Posted by kathyet

Originally Posted by sacredrage

Originally Posted by kathyet

And do you notice many of the Sheeple don't understand that fact?

Yes, unfortunately I do notice that....they think the GOP of today is the same GOP that existed 50 years ago...and many don't see the danger that the Democrats pose either...but I myself am not going to let myself be led to the slaughter without kicking and screaming!!! Whatever you personally think of OWS, I think some of the sheep are starting to realize what's going on...and I notice "Big Corporate" is angry at them because of it....I say "rock on" OWS and keep ticking off Big Corporate!

We need to find a way to get both parties back where they were about 50 years ago...back to "classical liberalism" instead of "progressive liberalism" and back to pro-America for Americans, pro-family and pro-God instead of this scary "globalism" and forced secularism to where you have less rights than foreigners coming to live in your own country!!!

SOPA Alternative Introduced

December 5, 2011 by Sam Rolley


New alternatives have been proposed by lawmakers to strict online regulations currently being considered by Congress.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has proposed an alternative to controversial online piracy bills currently pending in both chambers of Congress. http://www.personalliberty.com/conserva ... net-rules/

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which would enable the government and copyright holders to demand third parties delete links to foreign websites deemed rogue or dedicated to copyright infringement, has been labeled by critics as an assault on free speech and an underhanded government attempt to censor the Internet.

The alternate proposal would authorize the International Trade Commission (ITC) to investigate and issue cease-and-desist orders against foreign websites that provide pirated content or sell counterfeit goods. Instead of allowing third parties to sweep in and delete at will, the ITC would be tasked with providing proof that copyright violations occurred, according to The Hill. http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valle ... iracy-bill

As the new proposals are introduced, organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce continue in their vehement support of SOPA. Among those in opposition to the bill are free speech advocates, the Libertarian party, and many GOP and Democratic lawmakers, as well as software and Web-based communications companies.

http://www.personalliberty.com/news/sop ... ced/?eiid=

I got a post from the organization that's fighting SOPA, that says it may be pased this week-please call all your senators and representatives again people!!

Stop American Censorship

This Thursday, a bill that would create America’s first Internet censorship system is going to a full committee for a vote, and is likely to pass. This week, millions of us will protest censorship, censoring our own posts and asking you to call Congress. We need your help - please make a call right now.


Act Now: Call Congress right away



This week is do or die. The only way we can stop this bill from passing this week is by melting Congress's phone system with calls from constituents: We want every member to get one call per minute all week long.

Enter your info below. You will receive a call from us, a short message with talking points and instructions, and then we'll connect you to your r
Call Congress
Can’t call? Send an email


http://americancensorship.org/

Also Electronic Frontier Assoc

https://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/9042/ ... n_KEY=8173