links.lmorchard.com - #sopa

Dear Hollywood: An Open Letter to the Hardworking Men and Women in the Entertainment Industries | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:47:28 +0000

We humbly suggest that you stand up and tell them to either embrace the age of the Internet or get out of the way so that new, forward-thinking industry leaders can take their place.

Tags: #creative #entertainment #mpaa #riaa #sopa

The President's challenge - O'Reilly Radar

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:45:01 +0000

Take the truck, the boat, the helicopter, that we've sent you. Don't wait for the time machine, because we're never going to invent something that returns you to 1965 when copying was hard and you could treat the customer's convenience with contempt.

Tags: #copyfight #freedom #net #sopa

How SOPA's 'circumvention' ban could put a target on Tor | Privacy Inc. - CNET News

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:53:59 +0000

A broad interpretation of SOPA's anti-circumvention language would sweep even more broadly than Tor. Software such as VPNs, used by security-conscious businesses, can also "bypass" a SOPA-established blockade. So could DNS software. And even the humble "/etc/hosts" file, part of every major operating system including OS X, Linux, and Windows, can be pressed into service as a SOPA-bypasser as well.

Tags: #internet #law #politics #sopa

Universal Censors Megaupload Song, Gets Branded a “Rogue Label” | TorrentFreak

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:10:14 +0000

Earlier today, Megaupload released a pop video featuring mainstream artists who endorse the cyberlocker service. News of the controversial Mega Song even trended on Twitter, but has now been removed from YouTube on copyright grounds by Universal Music. Kim Dotcom says that Megaupload owns everything in the video, and that the label has engaged in dirty tricks in an attempt to sabotage their successful viral campaign.

Tags: #censorship #copyfight #megaupload #sopa #umg #universal

Lamar Smith is a cheap date - Boing Boing

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:03:44 +0000

How much has it cost the entertainment industry to convince Rep Lamar Smith to introduce and ram through SOPA, which will cost the American economy billions, which will nuke the games, microprocessor, search, and other high tech companies in his Texas district? A mere $50K a year for 10 years. You know, it's one thing to be a sellout; but to sell out so cheaply -- man, have some self-respect. (via /.)

Tags: #copyfight #law #politics #sopa #us

Head MPAA shill reduced to outright lies in bid to make the case for SOPA - Boing Boing

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:03:06 +0000

Case in point: Dodd recently told the Center for American Progress that "The entire film industry of Spain, Egypt and Sweden are gone."

Tags: #copyfight #law #lies #sopa #us

Dear Congress, It's No Longer OK To Not Know How The Internet Works | Motherboard

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:25:53 +0000

So it was as proponents of the Hollywood-funded bill curmudgeonly shot down all but two amendments proposed by its opponents, who fought to dramatically alter the document to preserve security and free speech on the net. But the chilling takeaway of this whole debacle was the irrefutable air of anti-intellectualism; that inescapable absurdity that we have members of Congress voting on a technical bill who do not posses any technical knowledge on the subject and do not find it imperative to recognize those who do.

Tags: #government #internet #nerds #politics #sopa #tech

The Rise of the Geek Lobby

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:26:56 +0000

In a time of legislative gridlock, the Stop Online Piracy Act looked like a rare bipartisan breakthrough. The bill, known as SOPA, promised a brave new Internet—one cleansed of “rogue websites” that hawk pirated songs and movies as well as counterfeit goods. For Congress, the legislation’s goals...

Tags: #geek #lobby #politics #sopa

A List Apart: Articles: Say No to SOPA

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:43:06 +0000

A List Apart strongly opposes United States H.R.3261 AKA the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), an ill-conceived lobbyist-driven piece of legislation that is technically impossible to enforce, cripplingly burdensome to support, and would, without hyperbole, destroy the internet as we know it.

Tags: #copyfight #freedom #internet #sopa

US judge orders hundreds of sites "de-indexed" from Google, Facebook

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:45:54 +0000

After a series of one-sided hearings, luxury goods maker Chanel has won recent court orders against hundreds of websites trafficking in counterfeit luxury goods. A federal judge in Nevada has agreed that Chanel can seize the domain names in question and transfer them all to US-based registrar GoDaddy. The judge also ordered "all Internet search engines" and "all social media websites"—explicitly naming Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Bing, Yahoo, and Google—to "de-index" the domain names and to remove them from any search results.

Tags: #chanel #copyfight #dns #freedom #internet #sopa

Ex-RIAA Boss Ignores All Criticisim Of SOPA/PIPA, Claims Any Complaints Are Trying To Justify Stealing | Techdirt

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:57:59 +0000

But, even more to the point, it's getting ridiculous how many people defending SOPA/PIPA are doing so using this logic. They brush off all of the specific concerns, the highlights of problematic language, and they conclude "why are you justifying theft?" Of course, that's ridiculous. Beyond the fact that "theft" and "infringement" are very different (don't get me started), nothing in anyone's complaints about SOPA or PIPA have anything to do with "justifying" infringement. In fact, in the post that was being discussed, we clearly noted that infringement is a problem. We just disagree that PIPA and SOPA are reasonably, or even effective, solutions.

Tags: #censorship #copyfight #freedom #internet #sopa

Microsoft's Cold Feet Over SOPA Behind BSA's 'Rethinking' Its Views | Techdirt

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:53:53 +0000

One of the big surprises this week was that the normally "maximalist" organization, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) -- basically the RIAA of software -- did an abrupt and unexpected turnaround on SOPA. While it had been close to gushing in its initial support, it backed that down quite a bit, noting that the bill would likely have unintended consequences that needed to be dealt with. Behind that shift? Apparently Microsoft. Microsoft, who has been quite aggressive on copyright (and patent) enforcement lately, has always publicly supported these bills, in contrast to nearly all of the rest of the tech industry. However, even it appears to recognize that SOPA goes way too far, and apparently had a little discussion with the BSA about backing down.

Tags: #censorship #copyfight #law #sopa

Why SOPA endangers America's Internet leadership

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:46:15 +0000

America's position of influence over the Internet economy is a valuable form of "soft power." If the US government uses this power judiciously, it can ensure that the Internet evolves in ways that serve US interests. Instead, American policymakers are rapidly squandering this soft power by giving US law enforcement agencies—and, under SOPA, even private copyright holders—free rein to exercise this power with minimal judicial oversight. The US is home to many of the world's leading search engines, advertising networks, and credit card payment networks. These firms not only serve the US market, they are also widely used overseas. If the US begins to use them as pawns in its war against file-sharing, foreigners and their governments will become more reluctant to rely on them.

Tags: #internet #morons #politics #sopa

Software Makers Shun SOPA Bill - Government - Policy & Regulation - Informationweek

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:05:23 +0000

A group that represents a number of major software developers, including Microsoft, Adobe, and CA, has withdrawn its support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill, which would require Internet companies and other players in the tech ecosystem to deny services to suspected software pirates and copyright violators.

Tags: #bsa #copyfight #internet #law #sopa

Nintendo, EA, Sony sponsor Internet censorship bill [update] | Joystiq

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:21:13 +0000

Tags: #freedom #internet #sopa