SOPA/ACTA Watch

Spiney · Post by **Spiney** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:26 am

Well apparently Mega Upload is down, as a reaction to the SOPA protests.

Anonymous had their own thing to say about that though: http://gizmodo.com/5877679/anonymous-ki ... nge-strike

Avron the S'wit · Post by **Avron the S'wit** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:54 am

Megaupload is not down because of SOPA protests; they are down because the FBI closed them. (New York Times: 7 Charged as F.B.I. Closes a Top File-Sharing Site) Which begs the question: if the US can already do this, what do they need SOPA and PIPA for? I assume I am missing something.

Spiney · Post by **Spiney** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 3:03 am

Well I guess they have to go through all bunch of bureaucratic stuff to get to this.

SOPA/PIPA will let them take down sites or block them with out trial.

Veck · Post by **Veck** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:14 am

To actually shut down MegaUpload a large number of frankly bullcrap accusations were made (yes, it's a terrible site and yes, it can harbour piracy, but calling its owners fraudulent through use of advertising and membership fees is utterly ridiculous), which wouldn't be necessary of these bills pass. If they get signed, the only reason that the legal case with MegaUpload will continue is because the lobbyists behind getting it shut down would fancy some of those $50 million in assets that have been seized.

Spiney · Post by **Spiney** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:21 am

Actually it's already back up: http://109.236.83.66/

DeeJay · Post by **DeeJay** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:01 pm

That link is broken.

Avron the S'wit · Post by **Avron the S'wit** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:03 pm

Spiney wrote:SOPA/PIPA will let them take down sites or block them with out trial.

I see that now, I think. I found this on Google+ that explains it in layman's terms and very simply. (It is a public page but I'm not sure if you guys can view it, so let me know if the link does not work.)

Spiney · Post by **Spiney** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:52 pm

Avron the S'wit wrote:
Spiney wrote:SOPA/PIPA will let them take down sites or block them with out trial.
I see that now, I think. I found this on Google+ that explains it in layman's terms and very simply. (It is a public page but I'm not sure if you guys can view it, so let me know if the link does not work.)

I've known that all along, and that's why people are protesting it.

That's not the only point as well. Things like Let's Plays would become illegal too. And it isn't hard for one of us to imagine how many channels would have to be taken down if that were the case. All art that uses characters like lets say, Marvel or DC comics fan art would also become illegal, and thus rendering sites like DA illegal and viable to be taken down.

Simply, the bill would screw the internet over big time, and that's why you see the biggest organised online protests in this case.

Avron the S'wit · Post by **Avron the S'wit** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 3:11 pm

Well, just remember: if you oppose it, do something about it!

DeeJay · Post by **DeeJay** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:08 pm

Speak and ye shall be heard:

SOPA, PIPA postponed:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/20 ... +Ticker%29

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46072484/ns ... xmfEm9SSv8

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01 ... latestnews

Multiple news sites posted as I know a lot of people read different sites.

scribbane · Post by **scribbane** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:42 pm

So the other day I emailed my senators, two of them from MD, and while it turns out one was in agreement of the SOPA bill, I got an email back from Senator Mikulski. Thought you guys might be interested in seeing what it said, since I know some people have contacted reps, but don't know if you got anything back.

tl;dr

Spoiler:

Sure its probably a canned response, but I do like the fact that I got a response, and that it was more than just "Thank you for sharing your concerns!". It also looks as though she won't sign it as it is right now, as she is still on the fence. But this just goes to show, that if you express concerns, you really can be heard.

Avron the S'wit · Post by **Avron the S'wit** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:55 pm

Wow scrib, that's great that you got a response. Thanks for sharing!

I'm all for anti-piracy laws myself, just not with the other language in the bill, so I can understand where your senator is coming from.

AKB · Post by **AKB** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:04 pm

It is a form letter, however, once you consider the fact that representatives can get thousands of letters every day you can't really expect them to write out a message every time. But, still, I do believe they at least approve what form letters say in the first place, so you get a general idea of what they think about the issue.

scribbane · Post by **scribbane** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:07 pm

AKB wrote:It is a form letter, however, once you consider the fact that representatives can get thousands of letters every day you can't really expect them to write out a message every time. But, still, I do believe they at least approve what form letters say in the first place, so you get a general idea of what they think about the issue.

I agree, like I said, I'm just glad that there was an actual response. I didn't expect her to write me a letter personally, so I am glad that I got more than a standard "Thanks and remember to vote!" reply. I got a bit of an insight into her views, and got a response in a matter of days, so I am very impressed with that.

DorostheConqueror · Post by **DorostheConqueror** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:11 pm

I'm fine with anti-piracy laws, too; reasonable, non-draconian ones that won't bugger legit sites and fair use uploaders, and which can be easily ignored by folks who don't feel like feeding Mammon. Ones like we've already been saddled with.

I'm thinking of starting a series of Occupy Hollywood protests; structured like OWS, directed not against banks, but against the old media giants behind all this nonsense. They want to deny us access to our media, well, why not boycott and blockade record stores, movie theaters, studios, and executive headquarters? If any brick and mortar is suspected of enabling anti-privacy, anti-free speech legislation ("engaging in the theft of American freedoms") then we should start a human chain around it until such a time as they can prove that they're not fascist corporatist luddite skeever-suckers. How about it? Who's with me?

scribbane · Post by **scribbane** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:17 pm

I'd join in just for the chance to meet you haha. But I actually think a well organized protest like that could garner some real support.

DorostheConqueror · Post by **DorostheConqueror** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:38 pm

Well, I was hoping more for roving mobs and kerosene torches, but organized protests might work, too.

I know a bunch of Anons have already taken to the streets, in addition to the various hacking attacks we all knew were coming. Maybe we should each find a prominent local venue owned by SOPA supporters, get a bunch of our IRL friends together, and spend the weekend parading outside and waiving net-saavy placards? I know a few people who work at Pfizer's research division, and the WWE headquarters is only a short drive away. If all else fails, WalMarts are always available.

Also, is it just me, or is anyone else here THOROUGHLY disgusted with GoDaddy? I had a lot of respect for them and their pleasingly sexist ad-campaigns, despite the fact they focused on Hatchetface McGee there, but that's all gone now. First, they supported SOPA. That's bad enough, but then when it became clear that the rest of the net is against SOPA, they backed off and released some lame corporate statement saying they'll support SOPA "once everyone else does". Gosh, thanks GoDaddy, I'm glad to see the strength of your conviction to go along with whatever's popular at the moment. I would of preferred it if they stuck to their guns and stayed with SOPA; at least then we'd know their corporate leadership had a spine and sense of civic responsibility, misguided and evil as it is. And, shock of shocks, GOOGLE is a good guy on this one! True, protecting existing freedoms is the only way to keep their business profitable here in the States, unlike in China, where enabling mass government oppression was the best way to grab market shares. But motives aside, I'm actually proud to say they're my homepage for the first time in a decade or so!

Avron the S'wit · Post by **Avron the S'wit** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:58 pm

DorostheConqueror wrote:Well, I was hoping more for roving mobs and kerosene torches...

Now you're talking! Disclaimer: Avron the S'wit does not support or condone chaos and violence, unless it is Chaos the N'wah, and unless the violence involves me, a big hammer, and a spambot. Moving right along now.

GoDaddy is ridiculous. I was never a fan with them in the first place, but the whole thing is really disgusting. I, however, have always been a Google fangirl, so I'm with them. But a lot of people are getting involved; even sites like ThinkGeek are very proactive and engaging in an educated conversation about SOPA and PIPA - mostly through their Google+ page. It's been quite interesting to see how it reacts!

Besides, almost every internet website and company I know of is against this. I don't believe it will be ignored or passed. To me it's really a Hollywood against the world sort of deal, and Hollywood has been losing since forever.

Odd history for the mature minded:

Spoiler:

videogmer314 · Post by **videogmer314** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:07 pm

Avron the S'wit wrote:Odd history for the mature minded:
Spoiler:
Hollywood has been losing out for a while, actually, given new technologies. You want to know about the beginning of creative enterprises and ideas like Web 2.0 and where it began? Look at, oddly enough, the [this is censored, really?], um, "adult entertainment" industry. I am not even joking. If you want a good example of giving the people what they want and finding a way to make it economically beneficial for you, even at a slight loss, and yet widely successful, you have to look here. It's even the opening of the Nick Bilton book I am always referencing. So. Many. References... Anyway, point and case, technology has opened people up into finding what appeals to them personally outside of the accepted norm.

Obligatory (probably NSFW) TV Tropes link.

DorostheConqueror · Post by **DorostheConqueror** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:12 pm

Google is a well-dressed devil, but a devil none the less. As far as I'm concerned, their role in facilitating the Great Firewall of China makes them the moral equivalent of mid-century Swiss banks. Anyway...

The net may be against it, but Hollywood's got the money and the lobbyists. I heard (although I don't have the exact figures, so it may be a stretch) that the pro-SOPA groups have been outspending anti-SOPA groups by ten-to-one; money talks in Washington, and legislation tends to go towards whichever special interest group controls the purse strings. They're also Hollywood; they're the single most succesful band of spin-doctors and brainwashers the world has ever seen, so I wouldn't count them out too quickly. They're a dying industry and everyone on the net knows it, but the question is, have the sixty year old geezers on Capital Hill got the memo?

Also, I dunno if we can credit [&@%!] with founding Web 2.0 (I'd give that to the early renegade P2P networks that first made dynamic, user-generated content feasible and desirable- irony!), but [&@%!] was without a doubt the biggest driving force behind Web 1.0. I still remember the halcyon days when "the net" consisted of two things: AOL chat rooms, and a vast roiling sea of adult sites just outside the ISP walls.

Avron the S'wit · Post by **Avron the S'wit** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:19 pm

That's true. No credit to that area of the web for Web 2.0, but it's still quite an interesting example.

DorostheConqueror wrote:They're a dying industry and everyone on the net knows it, but the question is, have the sixty year old geezers on Capital Hill got the memo?

No - isn't that why we're all arguing with them?

You make lots of valid points. I don't know about the whole outspending thing, but still a good question for any area: who will win, those with the most money or those with the loudest voices? That's always been an issue with representation.

Arch-Mage Matt · Post by **Arch-Mage Matt** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:08 am

Spoiler:

ZombieMonkeyNZ · Post by **ZombieMonkeyNZ** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:17 am

Oh my god!

That is epic.

AddictedtoMorrowind · Post by **AddictedtoMorrowind** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:26 am

~~AtoM bomb? I would never destroy the internet.~~

That's nice. I wonder what the ages of the people who wrote that were...

Spiney · Post by **Spiney** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:33 am

Spoiler:

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