Americans generally do the right thing, after first exhausting all the available alternatives - Winston Spencer Churchill
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EFF calls US online control bill 'censorship'
A CLAMOUR OF PROTEST is growing against a bill titled the "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act" that was introduced in the US Senate to hand over more power to the entertainment industry cartels, with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) calling the bill, with considerable restraint, "flawed".
As The INQUIRER reported yesterday, the bill apparently aims to repay the entertainment industry for its millions in political campaign contributions by giving US federal prosecutors the right to take down Internet domains anywhere in the world. The bill has been met with immediate opposition, with the EFF wading in and calling it a "censorship bill that runs roughshod over freedom of speech on the Internet".
The EFF describes that through the use of "censorship court orders" domain names can be added to a blacklist. However what it says is more worrying is a second blacklist of domains, determined by the US Department of Justice without judicial review, of websites that are alleged to be "dedicated to infringing activities". It says that the bill requires that domains in the first blacklist be blocked but "strongly suggests" that those in the second list be blocked too.
While both blacklists are inimical to free speech and online commerce, it's easy to see why the EFF labels the second blacklist as even more worrying. Without judicial review, such a process could easily be abused, potentially resulting in many Internet services, not just those that allegedly break copyright laws, being suppressed and unreachable.
The group claims that the bill will have "longstanding and dangerous impact on freedom of speech", saying that it "undermines basic Internet infrastructure", referring to the manipulation of the domain name system (DNS) used to translate human readable domain names to numerical IP addresses.
Although the DNS is most visible to Internet users when they are browsing the web, many other Internet services use DNS resolution in order to bootstrap. Although the system has its foibles, it represents a core infrastructure instrumentality that is absolutely necessary for the Internet to exist and its integrity is paramount for the efficient operation of all Internet communications.
Government control of Internet infrastructure has long been a contentious issue with fears that any exertion of controls would lead to censorship. This bill represents the latest assault by large corporations and authoritarian political interests that would prefer a much more restrictive and controlled Internet.
Expect more calls for this attempt at Internet censorship to be defeated from the Internet freedom advocacy groups as the bill tries to trundle through the US political system and over Internet users' freedoms. µ
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You are a crackhead if you believe that internet censorship is a good idea. Yea, they protect you from the "big baaaad pirates" on the internet who commit horrendous crimes of genocidal proportion by letting people download copyrighted material! Get real, they represent such a small portion of the population, and the MPAA has already made it hard enough to steal and use copyrighted material that the run of the mill morons like yourself can't do it, you're testament to that! The loss of net neutrality and the potential for grievous infractions on civil liberties is WAY worse than a small band of merry pirates stealing crappy music and unwatchable movies...but since many people are sheep like you...we'll lose the internet too...you don't deserve your freedom i guess. I hope you smile real big when they put you in the ministry of truth one day and shoot you :) ...buy no....the government doesnt detain people without cause you say!! of course not...thats why they're closing guitmo right?....lol...u sheep...
You aren't really smart, huh?
Let me break it down through an example for you:
1. U.S. Government gets the right to shut down any web SERVICE that relies on DNS, anywhere ON THE PLANET without having to go through the court.
2. Telco companies lobby the government to ban Skype (T-Mobile is already blocking it).
3. BAM! No more Skype. No need to sue for infringement, no need to get a court order, it is on a second blacklist. You used free VoIP? Too bad, now cough up some greens for it.
Now replace "Skype" with ANY SERVICE, and "Telco" with ANY INTEREST GROUP, and try thinking about it on a larger scale you moron.
You can also think about how easy is to label people as terrorists or pedophiles today -- government can just point their finger at their political opponents and scream "Terrorists!" or "Pedophiles!", and there goes your right of free speech. You voted for opposition? Too bad, with laws such as "three strikes and you are out" and "no net neutrality" your Internet link just got revoked. Good luck in going through the comment trolling withdrawal crisis.
Piracy? Yeah, we heard of it. The U.S. government is the worst pirate out there. You just keep thinking that you will be "safe from the pirates" with such idiotic laws -- you will be the next one walking down the plank.
It's a world wide power grab.
We can just force US laws on the World this way.
Fix your business model boys.
Spend more money on innovation, Not washington lobbiest.
Blocking the street around a crime scene isn't a violation of people's right to travel. Shutting down a business that sells illegal drugs isn't a violation of the First Amendment just because that business also sells books. Likewise, blocking a domain that engages in criminal copyright infringement isn't an infringement of free speech rights.
This is just more pro-piracy advocacy from the EFF masquerading as 'freedom of speech'.
What's new?
Still smokin' that Obama Red now, boys and girls?