Internet Censorship Bill

[CartoonFan]

Inspired by another thread...

So just take a look at this. Apparently they're getting serious about internet censorship now. If this thing makes it through later, the result could possibly be worse than the hypothetical loss of net neutrality. Who knows what sites could end up being taken down?

Probably this one.

So... you guys think it might get passed some day?

[Holkeye]

No. It already got shut down this year, and it won't be until late next year that it gets reinstated, if ever.

[Roph]

As early as 1993, John Gilmore observed that "the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it."

At the moment this is out of most people's view / minds. If it reaches a tipping point however, it will suddenly take hold like a wildfire. Networks like freenet and tor would become commonplace, and SSL connections could become the norm, along with VPN connections.

A lot can happen in a year.

[Holkeye]

Its not going to happen.

[Jonesy]

How would they shut down sites offshore? If they can't, wouldn't most American's who have websites just make the switch?

If they force ISPs to block domain's on their DNS, couldn't people just use different DNS's too? I don't really get how you could censor something like the internet.

[Roph]

How would they shut down sites offshore? If they can't, wouldn't most American's who have websites just make the switch?

If they force ISPs to block domain's on their DNS, couldn't people just use different DNS's too? I don't really get how you could censor something like the internet.

China's been doing it for years. I have a chinese friend who genuinely didn't know about the tianamen square massacre until I told him about it.

[tSwitch]

Its not going to happen.

[Gracie]

Its not going to happen.

And thank fuck for that.

[Nessiah]

Hey guys, it's back again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDX8Lyl16Qs&feature=player_embedded

From Anon News:
http://t.co/o1hoxWbH
More info:
https://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/law-professors-join-critics-of-proposed-antipiracy-bill-discussed-at-house-hearing/34344

Petition: (SIGN ALL OF THEM FOR THE GREATER GOOD!)
http://americancensorship.org/
http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-internet-control-bill-now
http://t.co/TYYG5rEC
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet/?tta <this one is Globally

Google, Yahoo!, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Zynga, eBay, AOL and #Mozilla sent a #SOPA letter to congress. Read here: http://mzl.la/rtd5o1

[Holkeye]

Its not going to happen.

[haloOfTheSun]

I'm noticing a trend here.

[Nessiah]

Have you guys seen the latest reports and hearings about SOPA? It's getting a lot of support inside the senate itself 8|;;;
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111116/00035716786/look-testimony-given-todays-sopa-lovefest-congressional-hearings-with-surprise-mastercard.shtml

[Irock]

It's going to happen.

[Esmeralda]

Europe committed to enforcing net neutrality yesterday

[pacdiggity]

It's not going to happen.

[SirJackRex]

So this shit goes down in the House tomorrow. COICA passed the house but didn't it get fucked over by the senate? Even so I read that Obama said he would veto it...

But basically MPAA and RIAA need to die.

[EvilM00s]

*sigh*

I could be wrong, but I don't think the constituents of these congresspeople asked for this bill. This appears to me to be the work of lobbyists.

The largest issue with the US medical system's cost is tort law. Following that example, is it too far fetched to say that exposing companies to extra liability (which unless I'm mistaken, HR 3261 would do) will similarly hurt the commercial sector? Imagine needing buyer's insurance just to be able to make purchases on the 'net... I really struggle with the idea that there are those who see SOPA as a good thing. I guess we'll find out how many congresspeople do today.

[Dwarra?]

I watched some of the debate, they're all bought out. None of the SOPA-allied congressmen have any idea what it's about. In fact one of them even stated "We've all been hurt by piracy."
Fucking lobbyists.

[SirJackRex]

I know, right. It's ridiculous.

The current middle-aged white male incumbents need to back the fuck up from office asap, and lobbyists need to go away forever. But hell, politicians are supposed to represent our best interests; when did we ever ask them to replace civil liberties with corporate liberties?

It's a crooked republic they run.

[tSwitch]

when did we ever ask them to replace civil liberties with corporate liberties?

When we elected them, and sat idly.

[Dwarra?]

My favorite presidential candidate is an elderly white male. ;o

[Irock]

The current middle-aged white male incumbents need to back the fuck up from office asap, and lobbyists need to go away forever. But hell, politicians are supposed to represent our best interests; when did we ever ask them to replace civil liberties with corporate liberties?

Corporate liberties aren't the problem, corporate and government tyranny is.

[Irock]

Also Harry Burns stop being racist and ageist you stupid fuck.

[EvilM00s]

Hm. Well. If the rich white smug shoe fits, wear it.

I think one of the foundation-level problems we have in the United States is this assumption we cling to that pure capitalism is the way to go. I reject pure capitalism in the same way I reject any pure system, be it political, religious or economic- the theory is nice, but it doesn't work.

Capitalism is supposed to enrich the economy by providing competition, the principle that those who provide the best value will suceed, and maybe for a time in a successful company's life, it does. But eventually as the company gets big, it starts neglecting value for the consumer in favor of value for the shareholder. It's no secret, just read the corporate policy for any global company and the consumer is almost totally ignored while the shareholder is constantly mentioned as the top priority.

As these companies make more money and aquisitions, they run into legal walls that stand between them and their ambitions. Solution: pay off a congressman or two or an entire comittee to enact legislation to remove those obstacles. If you pay your lawmakers enough, you end up essentially dictating American law.

In the most recent economic crisis, all the US needed to do was regulate those insurance companies and banks; there was no regulation and when everything went belly up the entire global economy suffered. So much for pure, unregulated capitalism.

This internet bill would essentially de-regulate the shutdown of whatever commercial websites the government saw fit, and while bigger companies would hardly feel the effects of a temporary shutdown, for the one dude in his basement trying to get his business off the ground it's a death sentence. It is in this way that big corp is pulling its latest stunt to stay big and bulletproof against their biggest threat- the little guys who exist to benefit their consumers.

[Irock]

We don't live in a capitalist society. You can't say, "Capitalism doesn't work! Just look at the corporations in our non-capitalist society!" The corporations can lobby to the government and the government, feeling unrestrained in power, does as they ask. The government will work against the natural flow of the market and bail out corporations when they fail. The government will put money into things like paying for people to go to college, but since the government has to pay for it, tuition goes up, more people go to college, the value of college goes down and the only people to benefit in the long run are the schools. These are just a couple examples. We don't have a capitalist system, we have a combination of corporatism and socialism, both a result of big, unrestrained government. You don't know what real capitalism is.

The economic crisis wasn't caused by under-regulation. It all started with the burst of the housing bubble. And to explain the housing bubble, here's a man who warned of the housing bubble burst and the economic collapse years before it happened:

[spoiler][yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99ed8reuX5I[/yt][/spoiler]