to think that SOPA will be the death of mumsnet and any site which ordinary people can post on?

[threefeethighandrising]

The SOPA blackout yesterday - it was about piracy on the internet, right? Well yes and no.

If SOPA passes, then it will be illegal not only to host illegal content (e.g. songs) but to link to them. And it's not just in the US - they want to censor everyone in the world.

So, that wedding video of yours where you're dancing to your favourite tune for example? If you post a link to your youtube video of it on mumsnet, not only will you be committing copyright infringement, so will youtube, and mumsnet too for linking to it.

You, youtube and mumsnet will be committing a crime under US law
Under these new laws they will have the power to effectively switch off mumsnet, extradite and jail or fine you, the owners of mumsnet and youtube.

(If you think this won't happen, see this [[http://www.chad.co.uk/news/local/alfreton/bolsover_mum_calls_on_government_to_step_in_after_son_loses_extradition_battle_to_united_states_1_4151073 23 year old student extradited to US and facing up to 10 years because he made a website - legal under UK law - which ^linked( to material which was infringing copyright

[[http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2007/10/riaa-jury-finds/ Single mother fined $222,000 for downloading 24 songs).

The US government will see mumsnet as coming under US law - as mumsnet has a .com address, it's american as far as they're concerned.

If the website breaking their law is outside of the US, then they will still have the power to effectively shut down the site - even if what the site is doing is legal its own country. The law also prohibits the website owners from suing - e.g. for having their business destroyed - even if found innocent! (There's loads of room for abuse for commercial gain by rival companies here).

If passed what this will mean in practice is that it's just too risky to run websites which have user-generated content.

Youtube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter are obvious examples, and sites like mumsnet too.

It will destroy the internet as we know it.

Why are they doing it? The sponsors of the bill include many large media companies. They basically want to turn the internet into a media channel, where they can broadcast to us. There's a huge amount of money at stake here for them.

Did you realise that by performing any song yourself which is copyrighted and posting it on the internet you are in breach of copyright?

No matter how badly sung!

Interesting. The US just took down a file-sharing site today, m>egaupload.

Megauploads claims it has 150 million registered members - that's about 2% of the entire world population subscribing, and this is just one file-sharing site!

They also reckon this site accounts for 4% pf all internet traffic. That's massive!

story here if you're interested

president O'bama is trying to get this through i think. I really cannot stand the dick.

just seen this in active convos:

threefeethighandrising Fri 20-Jan-12 01:17:19
Thought I'd share as it's not on the main news sites yet.

It would seem, that in revenge for the US government shutting down filesharing site Megaupload today and arresting people involved with it for online piracy, hacker groups like Anonymous and Lulz Sec are going on a hacking spree tonight.

So far they've taken down websites like:

The FBI
US Dept of Justice
Utah Chiefs Of Police Association
RIAA - Recording Industry Association of America
Warner Music Group

This is massive! As it's early in America I imagine they're just warming up?
If you want to follow it, see twitter!

Personally I'm off to bed soon as I'm shattered, but I wonder what the response will be. I really can't imagine the US authorities will take kindly to it?!!

I thought Obama was against it- silly man!

If Obama IS supporting this then he has been badly advised.

Stories of websites being closed down/companies being prosecuted are all over the place. Defensive practice will now ensue with sites changing all their rules & practices just to keep in business which in tiurn will stifle their business.

This seriously worries me now, it's SO draconian and ill thought out.

Just a thought - is this the real reason that they want to push forward with it? If they have the control that it would give them, people all over the world wouldn't have the freedom to discuss it and rally against it. I wouldn't even know about it, let alone understand it if it hadnt have been on mumsnet like this - I can't say I've noticed it so much on the news.

It isn't really being discussed as much in the mainstream media as it should because, guess what, the big established media companies who actively want it to hapen. The people who are organising against this are the new media internet companies.

I'm finding the timing of the taking down of Megaupload to be incredibly

It's been around for years but now in the same week as it's all kicked off about SOPA. Now they decide to take it down? And to highlight the point they arrest the guy in NZ......not the US?

File sharing like this is the online equivalent of peddling drugs. If you take down one dealer, another will simply pop up and take his place. There's plenty alternatives to Megaupload already. I doubt the pirates will barely notice..

We do need laws to protect intellectual capital. Just not SOPA/PIPA. Longer term, old media companies need to change their business model and embrace change. Trying to change laws to maintain the chokehold they've enjoyed for years simply won't work.

niceguy - that is shocking. Seizure of web domains. Arrest on foreign soil. All based on applications made to a court in Virginia. Why are other countries going along with this?

I just read elsewhere, that actually it is the Democrats in the Senate/Congress who are pushing this so am unclear how opposed to this the President really is.

ThreeFeet you are absolutely correct. Free speech on t'interweb is under threat from government and also MSM. I am with you 100%.

"We do need laws to protect intellectual capital. Just not SOPA/PIPA. Longer term, old media companies need to change their business model and embrace change. Trying to change laws to maintain the chokehold they've enjoyed for years simply won't work"

I agree.

Let's not forget that the whole point of creating intellectual property / copyright laws in the first place was to encourage innovation. The idea being that if people own the rights to their ideas, this will create a marketplace where new technologies and ideas can flourish.

The laws was made for a very different world to this however! Pre-computer, let alone the internet!

The copyright laws are now being used by big business to stifle creativity in many instances. They (the laws and the companies!) are massively outdated and we need a re-think.

We need to create our own resilient internet in the UK so the US can go swivel. We cannot be in the situation where any foreign power could shut our internet down. We need to be connected to the WWW but we need to be able to operate stand alone too.

TwllBach sadly I think you're absolutely right. I suspect many of the companies involved would rather ordinary members of the public didn't have the ability to reach thousands or even millions of other people and freely spread news, organise and criticise who they like. It's at odds with their financial interests.

Sleepyinseattle made a good point earlier

"I'm often reminded at times like these of the historical issues around freedom of information e.g. the 15th century decree making it illegal to read or distribute the Bible in English without permission of a member of the Church, lest the "common folk" get too educated for their own good.

This is a modern day equivalent.

Gives the proles too much power."

Sleepyinseattle there is a term for the belief that not much will really change, it's called Normalcy Bias and you can read about it here (for the timebeing anyway!)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalcy_bias

So if Megaload had 2% of the world signed up to it, what are the American authorities going to do with their personal data now that they've "seized" the site - arrest 1 in 50 people in the planet?!

That's interesting OldMumsy

MoreBeta here's a list of who's for and against in Congress. (I'm not sure of that's all of them or not - there might be some who haven't declared an allegiance perhaps?)

They were mostly pro-SOPA just a few days ago. The balance has shifted.

Also yes, the mainstream news has been woefully poor on this. The reports I've seen have focused on illegal piracy, not on the wider implications for us all. Very lazy journalism :(

Yes we are hardwired to not recognise disaster coming on logic alone, we wait till we see others reacting and then follow. That's how the SS managed to herd so many people to death in gas chambers without riots (on the whole).

SS not being Social Services in this case BTW!

What many people forget is that Obama is simply a figurehead, not a leader.

He will do as he is told.

There has always been an arguement about the pluraility of the media in the UK as a way of protecting our freedom. In reality 'plurality' was nothing of the sort. It only meant anything in terms of the main political parties having sympathetic newspaper and TV outlets. It did not mean ordinary citizens having a voice tpo say what they wanted.

NoW we have the internet, mainstream political parties can be criticised by anyone with an internet conmnection. Look at the whole expenses scandal. Really that only got going and embarrsed all sides of the UK Parliament when bloggers got hold of it. Many MPs still openly resent their expenses being cut and being asked to produce receipts even though teh rest of us have to do that for HMRC or our employer.

Like most people, of course I think internet piracy is a bad thing but laws like SOPA with their international reach will inevitably be misused by powerful people who want to control the internet.

I was quite disappointed that MN didn't take part in the blackout. If this legislation was passed it has the potential to fundamentally alter the internet for every user. YANBU not even a little bit.