These two bills - SOPA and PIPA - are going thru the US Congress. They WILL, if passed, stop us blogging.
I'm FURIOUS to learn about yet another attempt by the US Government to impinge on MY freedom, while at the same time spouting about Democracy and Freedom. These bills will make it illegal for sites like Travelblog.org (and all our hosted blogs) to operate because we will have to PROVE ex-ante that we don't copy material. Check out this video - http://www.ted.com/talks/defend_our_freedom_to_share_or_why_sopa_is_a_bad_idea.html - for a more coherent explanation and get more of my outraged rant on my latest post on Quartermaine's World. Americans: please contact your representative and tell them to BUTT OUT OF MY BUSINESS.
Reply to this The newspaper reports that key sponsors and supporters in Congress are withdrawing support in light of the tremendous response against the bills from their constituents. It appears the bills in their current form are dead for this year.
Reply to this There is always someone acting in the background to stuff someone up...but here it could stuff us all up...somehow.
I have not reviewed the proposed Bill...but having seen the clip Mell gave...I see the potential for abuse of power...it is the unfettered power the passing of such legislation would give that could easily displace the intent of the Bill...and that is a major concern.
Keep us posted Geoff and I hope you are right Bob.
Reply to this In this instance, as far as I'm concerned, the U.S Administration can take their legislation and shove it where the sun doesn't shine!
This all smacks of the vast corporate cartel of TV, music and entertainment big wigs using their political chums to act on their behalf and protect their vast profits.
Of course, legislation against piracy should be far reaching and effective, but when it encroaches on the average person like those of us who innocently blog here on TB and the hundreds of other similar sites, then it is time to raise two fingers firmly in the air and tell these lawmakers what we think of their idiotic ideas.
Reply to this The lobbyist for the motion picture industry is none other than the former senator from Connecticutt, Christopher Dodd, who brought us the sub-prime mortgage fiasco through poor legislation. They will certainly try again, so we must be vigilant in defending our freedom.
Reply to this Well, SOPA/PIPA looks dead, so from that perspective we live again, but remember, MegaUpload has been taken down and the management arrested on a US indictment even tho' the company and they are foreign not resident in the USA. So the issue itself isn't going to vanish.
Which makes it all the more of a shame that I got just three responses to my LinkedIn heads-up, and 6 comments here. Most folk could care less about their freedoms... which gives the monsters their chance.
Reply to this Geoff,
The US is using existing national and international IPR laws to stop those internet sites whose primary purpose is to make theft of intellectual property easier. US authorities do so because most commercial movies and music originate in the US; so the US has the most at stake when people do not pay for watching movies or listening to music. However, as the link that you provided in your first comment above demonstrates, the proposed solution to IPR theft contained in the new laws take away our freedom to share our own ideas and creations. People do care, and that is why the laws are going back to the drawing board.
Reply to this How would that ever be possible to enforce across international law?
Reply to this @Cindy - Internationally hosted domains deemed in violation would be blocked or black-listed from American IP addresses, similar to the great Chinese firewall.
The bill was tossed out almost as soon as it hit the House floor. Copyright violations and online acts of piracy are certainly major issues that current legislation doesn't have the capacity to deal with (and ones that shouldn't be ignored) but this bill was clearly not the best way to address them.
Reply to this I know when the bills for online gaming sites were going through my sister was running BingoWorkz and a heap of other sites - they went to UK domain names until the IPs were banned.
So, potentially, blogging sites could be banned in the US...but available to viewers in other countries if such a bill ever did get passed?...sad day that would be.
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