Here we go again, SOPA IS BACK!

This is totally serious. It's happening again and it's not looking good...

 
An onrush of condemnation and criticism kept the SOPA and PIPA acts from passing earlier this year, but US lawmakers have already authored another authoritarian bill that could give them free reign to creep the Web in the name of cybersecurity.

As congressmen in Washington consider how to handle the ongoing issue of cyberattacks, some legislators have lent their support to a new act that, if passed, would let the government pry into the personal correspondence of anyone of their choosing.

H.R. 3523, a piece of legislation dubbed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (or CISPA for short), has been created under the guise of being a necessary implement in America’s war against cyberattacks. But the vague verbiage contained within the pages of the paper could allow Congress to circumvent existing exemptions to online privacy laws and essentially monitor, censor and stop any online communication that it considers disruptive to the government or private parties. Critics have already come after CISPA for the capabilities that it will give to seemingly any federal entity that claims it is threatened by online interactions, but unlike the Stop Online Privacy Act and the Protect IP Acts that were discarded on the Capitol Building floor after incredibly successful online campaigns to crush them, widespread recognition of what the latest would-be law will do has yet to surface to the same degree.

Kendall Burman of the Center for Democracy and Technology tells RT that Congress is currently considering a number of cybersecurity bills that could eventually be voted into law, but for the group that largely advocates an open Internet, she warns that provisions within CISPA are reason to worry over what the realities could be if it ends up on the desk of President Barack Obama. So far CISPA has been introduced, referred and reported by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and expects to go before a vote in the first half of Congress within the coming weeks.

“We have a number of concerns with something like this bill that creates sort of a vast hole in the privacy law to allow government to receive these kinds of information,” explains Burman, who acknowledges that the bill, as written, allows the US government to involve itself into any online correspondence, current exemptions notwithstanding, if it believes there is reason to suspect cyber crime. As with other authoritarian attempts at censorship that have come through Congress in recent times, of course, the wording within the CISPA allows for the government to interpret the law in such a number of degrees that any online communication or interaction could be suspect and thus unknowingly monitored.

In a press release penned last month by the CDT, the group warned then that CISPA allows Internet Service Providers to “funnel private communications and related information back to the government without adequate privacy protections and controls.

The bill does not specify which agencies ISPs could disclose customer data to, but the structure and incentives in the bill raise a very real possibility that the National Security Agency or the DOD’s Cybercommand would be the primary recipient,” reads the warning.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, another online advocacy group, has also sharply condemned CISPA for what it means for the future of the Internet. “It effectively creates a ‘cybersecurity'’ exemption to all existing laws,” explains the EFF, who add in a statement of their own that “There are almost no restrictions on what can be collected and how it can be used, provided a company can claim it was motivated by ‘cybersecurity purposes.’”

What does that mean? Both the EFF and CDT say an awfully lot. Some of the biggest corporations in the country, including service providers such as Google, Facebook, Twitter or AT&T, could copy confidential information and send them off to the Pentagon if pressured, as long as the government believes they have reason to suspect wrongdoing. In a summation of their own, the Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan arm of the Library of Congress, explains that “efforts to degrade, disrupt or destroy” either “a system or network of a government or private entity” is reason enough for Washington to reach in and read any online communiqué of their choice.

The authors of CISPA say the bill has been made “To provide for the sharing of certain cyber threat intelligence and cyber threat information between the intelligence community and cybersecurity entities,” but not before noting that the legislation could be used “and for other purposes,” as well — which, of course, are not defined.

“Cyber security, when done right and done narrowly, could benefit everyone,” Burman tells RT. “But it needs to be done in an incremental way with an arrow approach, and the heavy hand that lawmakers are taking with these current bills . . . it brings real serious concerns.”

So far CISPA has garnered support from over 100 representatives in the House who are favoring this cybersecurity legislation without taking into considerations what it could do to the everyday user of the Internet. And while the backlash created by opponents of SOPA and PIPA has not materialized to the same degree yet, Burman warns Congress that it could be only a matter of time before concerned Americans step up to have their say.

“One of the lessons we learned in the reaction to SOPA and PIPA is that when Congress tries to legislate on things that are going to affect Internet users’ experience, the Internet users are going to pay attention,” says Burman. H.R. 3523, she cautions, “Definitely could affect in a very serious way the internet experience.” Luckily, adds Burman, “People are starting to notice.” Given the speed that the latest censorship bill could sneak through Congress, however, anyone concerned over the future of the Internet should be on the lookout for CISPA as it continues to be considered on Capitol Hill.

Source: http://rt.com/usa/news/cispa-bill-sopa-internet-175/

Another SOPA-like bill and internet-moderating campaign happening all over again. The new bill is called CISPA, and it's already on the move to put the US government's hand in regulating the internet, making it just as dangerous as SOPA and PIPA was. Well, I'm opposing this bill (and also making crappy art about it). I mean, what's up with all these recent "internet shutdown" bills? It could totally affect RMRK! Hopefully this will die out as quickly as SOPA did.

By the way, I found a petition page for the bill: http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_cispa/?tta



"Grammar in today's post is brought to you by the letter Z for your sanity."

The US government seems to have a tendency for taking it up the arse by the entertainment industry.

Is ACTA not enough?
Seriously, the fuck is wrong with the US Government?

i totally made a photo about it

That's not a photo.

Actually I'm surprised.

That looks strangely effective.

updates: EFF is also talking about this: https://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8444

and also you are allowed to use that photo anywhere...

It really bothers me because of the effects those fuckawful people have on the rest of the world. You can't really isolate internet censorship, what they're doing is essentially ruining it for everyone worldwide. We had a protest in our capital regarding SOPA, we'll probably have one for this as well

God, I think everyone I know on the internets will get pissed. 

At least when China did it, they reduced the censorship to only their country.


Right now I'm remembering a British person being extradited to the US for a crime that is not illegal in his own country, but somehow being extradited anyway.


I have absolutely no faith in the US Government what-so-ever to do things properly, and I know a few Americans who will agree with me.

Old people, right? "How does internet work?"

"Grammar in today's post is brought to you by the letter Z for your sanity."

I was about to comment on the good grammar. Then I saw this

At least when China did it, they reduced the censorship to only their country.


Right now I'm remembering a British person being extradited to the US for a crime that is not illegal in his own country, but somehow being extradited anyway.


I have absolutely no faith in the US Government what-so-ever to do things properly, and I know a few Americans who will agree with me.

I agree with you.  The big problem, though, is that we elect these people who are fucking us over into out government in all branches and then we don't make use of our right to impeach.  In most of these bills that are being drafted, we are getting some of our rights taken away.  That in itself is unlawful and unconstitutional and nobody does a thing except stand outside of places of business and getting arrested, putting more money in their pockets by paying those fines.  It's ridiculous.

Remember a time when Democracy meant that the people had a voice?

It took a fucking worldwide petition for them to drop SOPA.

Remember a time when Democracy meant that the people had a voice?

It took a fucking worldwide petition for them to drop SOPA.

I can't say I remember a time.  I'm not nearly old enough and neither are any WW1 vets for that matter lol.

Point Taken

I really would like to see people finally say "look...if you guys pass this, every single one of you are getting impeached so we can replace you with someone who will uphold the constitution."

I seriously hope this bill DOESN'T get passed, because it would mean less of our constitutional Freedom of Speech.

I'm on the same page as everyone here in that people will get pissed.

Case and point: F*CK CISPA!!!

I know that people were threatening to revolt on the US Government if they passed SOPA.

I wonder how many of them were sincere about it?

Practically everyone on the board right now.

Definity getting involved in this petition. I like my contitutinal rights, thank you very much, and Cispa can just get stopped.

I know that people were threatening to revolt on the US Government if they passed SOPA.

I wonder how many of them were sincere about it?

All I'll be doing is trying to spread the word about our rights to impeach.  I'm not gonna lie, I probably wont do much in the way of protesting.  I'll probably just sign a petition because personally, there are a lot of things I disagree with but here is why I would much rather do research to aid others in their protests than actively participate:

#1: I am open about everything I do and fully believe that if you don't want people to know what you are doing, you probably shouldn't be doing it (obviously this doesn't apply to future surprises)

#2: I've got a daughter to take care of and getting locked up for being at a protest or crazy-injured like a lot of those protesters is counter-productive to said taking care of daughter.  As of now, she is my top priority.

#3: I'm lazy and even if #1 and #2 didn't apply, it would take a friend to drive over, pick me up and drive me back home to do any sort of protesting cuz I'll be damned if I gotta ride my bike anywhere that isn't going to pay me money for my time.

Regardless, these bills are going too far out of line in some contexts...

...but people need to pick one side and stick with it.  See, on one side, we got people saying "oh dear god if you pirate, you are a total douche."   On the other hand, we've got the same people "oh my god we demand privacy" blah blah blah but this privacy act is aimed at putting a stop to piracy.  Again, yes, this bill is far out of line in most contexts (i'll change my "some" to "most") but being downright against the thing in its entirety is another counter-productive situation.  (EDIT: I reread this and thought "wtf did I just say?"  I meant to say "being against piracy but being downright against this in its entirety is counter-productive to the cause you support."  Reading below will clarify why I think so.  Time to start brainstorming ideas to make the bill more suitable without allowing for abuse of it, in other words.)

The big problem that I see other than government officials who are OBVIOUSLY doing this for money in some form is that people who protest these things have no counter-offer.  They can't offer an alternative solution.  With people from all over the world opposing this stuff, how is it that there is not one single solution being given to these law makers that would allow for freedom on the internet while also being tough on piracy? 

To protest something and say "NO! I DON'T WANT IT!" is great and it is important but it is also important to come up with your own solution to offer otherwise you will only prolong the inevitable.

All of this is why I will not protest.  The only solution I have to offer is to impeach the career politicians and vote in someone who can potentially take care of our country and do it because they care, not because of the paycheck. (key word is "potentially", being that nobody can tell a person's true color until they are actually in office)

Words from the wise, Steven. I respect that.

And of course it is mostly my take on it and so it is mostly based on my opinion.  I in no way support nor am I against piracy but some of the minor nuances of this bill is what attracts my attention. 

Whether it was biased or not, that almost speech-like reply carries a LOT of truth behind it. And as for the nuances, some of them aren't all that minor in the sense of [yet again] the loss of some consitutional Freedom of Speech, but also in the loss of some constitutional Freedom of Expression.