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I don't know much about SOPA...haven't really looked into it that much, but doesn't something need to be done about all the piracy on the internet? There was just a post in the software forum about downloading HEM from a torrent site. As a content company, I would think DC would be affected as well by piracy.

I don't know much about SOPA...haven't really looked into it that much, but doesn't something need to be done about all the piracy on the internet? There was just a post in the software forum about downloading HEM from a torrent site. As a content company, I would think DC would be affected as well by piracy.

Without getting into the details, SOPA grants companies way too much power when they can already get just about whatever they want removed through the DMCA. From what I understand, the new bill would allow them to, for example, take down the ENTIRETY of Youtube if there is any copyright infringing material that they dislike.

https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en/us/landing/takeaction/takeaction.pdf

Fun infographic posted on Google for most of the day.

I don't know much about SOPA...haven't really looked into it that much, but doesn't something need to be done about all the piracy on the internet? There was just a post in the software forum about downloading HEM from a torrent site. As a content company, I would think DC would be affected as well by piracy.

We are affected by piracy, and we use the current provisions allowed to us in law to help combat piracy (the DMCA). These methods are effective. SOPA and PIPA are unconscionable attempts to grossly overstep in the name of "economic protection."

Here's a pithy, yet comic, illustration of SOPA: http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/sopa/sopa.gif

Rob

and a dramatic reenactment of it, in a bunker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvXo4sGB7zM

I don't know much about SOPA...haven't really looked into it that much, but doesn't something need to be done about all the piracy on the internet? There was just a post in the software forum about downloading HEM from a torrent site. As a content company, I would think DC would be affected as well by piracy.

SOPA would also enable the US gov to take down DeucesCracked because of a single torrent link posted to HEM or a YouTube link posted one someone's blog containing a baby video where in the background music is playing that's hasn't been properly licensed.

The legislation is losing support, but it's far from dead.

It lost Rubio and got pulled from the agenda. It's near term dead.

AGTJ wrote:

if the government's power is greatly restricted by law (i.e. we have small government), then any corruption that does exist is much less consequential than when the government has a lot of power.

Power and size are two different things. And it matters what the power is, not how large the government wielding it is. If you give government one power and remove the DOD, DOE, DO whatever, but the power givernment has is to decide who lives or dies, then you have a very small, very powerful government.


As for the capitalism comment, corporations are using government to 'protect' their property, which they use to generate income. If you don't want coporations to be able to control access to the thing they use to make money, you're inhibiting them from making money off their product.

BTW, I'm anti-corporatist government and I hope SOPA never sees the light of day, and I hope we get a net neutrality bill too because the internet is something that as a society we should have equal access to. And government should act in our interest.

I remember a lecture at university in 1990. The internet was described as nothing more than a "marketing tool". This has now become 100% fully realised. Now that is in every home, the people selling us "stuff" want to snatch back what was theirs all along in the first place. The SOPA is going to be used to forcefully return this incredibly powerful invention back to its rightful owners.Last week a fellow brit was told he would be extradited to the USA becuase his website contained links (not content) to other sites hosting TV shows and movies. The british Judge must have been too ignorant of modern technology to differentiate between hosting and providing a link. I think this is a shocking precedent and it will only become worse. The SOPA is a line in the sand, the cyber war is just starting.

Cloud storage is just another way to stop piracy - i reckon that in 10 years time the purchasing of storage media will be licensed/very expensive. Everything digital will be stored on cloud servers. This itself will become a political decision - do i go Apple, Microsoft, Google? The counter to this will be "illegal" cloud servers - hopefully as one is shutdown, two more will open up!
DONT entrust your digital property to the 'Clouds' - this will be the first casualty of the cyber war!
They'll be hacked n slashed all over the place - just look at Sony PS3!

Power and size are two different things. And it matters what the power is, not how large the government wielding it is. If you give government one power and remove the DOD, DOE, DO whatever, but the power givernment has is to decide who lives or dies, then you have a very small, very powerful government.

I guess this is just arguing over semantics. When I say "small government," I mean a government whose power and scope of influence over economic and individual affairs is greatly limited by law. I think that's what a lot of people mean by "small government."

As for the capitalism comment, corporations are using government to 'protect' their property, which they use to generate income. If you don't want coporations to be able to control access to the thing they use to make money, you're inhibiting them from making money off their product.

Right, but the problem that people have with this bill is not the intent of allowing corporations to protect their property, but the methods which the bill would allow them to do so.

And government should act in our interest.

I agree with this, but the way they should "act in our interest" is by protecting our freedoms, not doing whatever a majority wants it to do. Though in theory I think there could be a society with no government, in real life a government whose power is restricted by law and whose only responsibility is to protect rights/liberty is the next best thing.

The funny part is that I haven't seen one supporter of SOPA and I've seen about a million people against it. It's quite sad that the people have very little say in what goes on in our government.

well, since we don't live in a democracy, but in a republic, that's how it was intended (not allowing majority/mob rule).

on this issue i think the majority is right, but on many other issues, it's better if the mob doesn't get its way.

The American Form of Government

"Hey..Hey..you you..get off of my cloud!".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16642369

Amateur internet firm taken down - clearing the way for "legit" cloud services!
They where arrested in New Zealand at the behest of the US!!!!!

Told ya - its happeing right now.

hold on a sec, according to the article:

"It begs the question that if you can find and arrest people who are suspected to be involved in piracy using existing laws, then why introduce further regulations which are US-only and potentially damaging."

Should have based themselves in Ireland not New Zealand obviously. Looks like a pretty big leak in their game to me.

I guess this is just arguing over semantics. When I say "small government," I mean a government whose power and scope of influence over economic and individual affairs is greatly limited by law. I think that's what a lot of people mean by "small government."

Fair enough, although using a short-cut phrase like 'small government' or 'big government' just leads to incomplete or mis- understanding.
People who fixate on big or small government miss the point IMO. It matters what government does. Very often, economic affairs as you put it, is a competing interest with individual affairs. An easy example of that is child labor, which we used to have until government stepped in.

Right, but the problem that people have with this bill is not the intent of allowing corporations to protect their property, but the methods which the bill would allow them to do so.

That's a bit too clever. There is no effective way for business to protect its interests without these overreaching rules. It's easy to say one does not object to business protecting itself while denouncing the only effective way they could do it. It follows however that one would be in support of some alternative way to shut down online usage of copyrighted material.

I agree with this, but the way they should "act in our interest" is by protecting our freedoms, not doing whatever a majority wants it to do. Though in theory I think there could be a society with no government, in real life a government whose power is restricted by law and whose only responsibility is to protect rights/liberty is the next best thing.

There could not be a civilized society with no government. Government exists because the first decently large group of humans who met the next large group of humans and decided to live in one spot together needed a means to coexist. Back then authority may have been in the most powerful or in the most elder people or whatever, but government arose to provide a basis for social coexistence. That's what people (not saying you are one) who are so anti-government forget.
Limited in this scope or that scope is a legitimate debate to have and opinions to hold on topics can be legitimate, but ultimately human beings created government to help people. Help can take the form of getting out of people's way and it can take the form of protecting its people from abuses. In my opinion, the internet is crucial to the future of everyone. If you have access to it, you will be far more likely to be more successful in every aspect of life than someone who does not. If your access is unfettered and someone else's is regulated, they are at a serious disadvantage. That's why government needs to protect equal access for all. Even though it limits business.