Posted - 2012/01/18 : 22:57:35
I'm surprised there's no topic for something this important, but again the vast majority of people registered here are European. You may be under the false assumption that this U.S. legislation doesn't affect you, however it affects everyone who uses the internet.
Posted - 2012/01/18 : 23:09:38
I've been hearing about this for a while and i'm glad that it's being spoken about more openly because it really does affect everyone who uses the internet because sites like Youtube and other multimedia sites would be shut down or blocked if they have any bit of copyrighted material.
Posted - 2012/01/18 : 23:55:41
The reason it will affect worldwide is because sites will have to start manually screening everything posted there to make sure nothing copyrighted is used.
Basically- Silver will have to choose between hiring a team of monkeys to check every HHC post, or letting all US users lose access to this site.
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The above comment was likely written when I was *literally* 13, so please don't judge me too hard.
Posted - 2012/01/19 : 00:40:52
Very much against this. As I said elsewhere, aside from this bill being very heavy handed, it's being backed by Viacom/CBS...who own CNet, and CNet were the distributors of Limewire, Kazaa...all the P2P and even DRM-Removal software and wrote articles comparing the P2P software and the download speed you'd get from each one, and in all the examples they used to prove the download speed...They all used copyrighted material! AND CNet provided LINKS right on their main-page navbar to 'free mp3 download' websites. And what did CBS/Viacom do afterwards? They sued anyone they could catch downloading copyrighted material using that software for millions of dollars - it was an underhanded set-up right from the beginning and NOBODY saw it coming. They gave people the software, gave them the links to the free music, even gave them DRM-removal tools for those tricky DVDs and Blu-ray Disks and basically let the end users walk through a minefield blindfolded knowing full well what would happen.
Posted - 2012/01/19 : 01:38:45
I'm all for helping the artists and labels get paid but I don't like this bill from the US, basically gives the power to permanently shutdown any site with no chance of any sort of appeal.
If they actually did it like youtube does with copyright complaints that might work, where youtube emails you and gives you a chance to explain what you are doing. But with this, BAM your site, your paypal, everything gone. I really don't like that, it is really a massive big brother situation or heck even China internet.
The fact I've personally received in the past (mistakenly I should add), legal letters from the RIAA and PRS claiming for whatever reason I'm breaking copyright by having a link in the forums to a sound clip that the artist and label themselves posted... I'm not joking either. For a site (happyhardcore.com) that is really basically anti-piracy for hardcore music and tries very hard to support that artists I fear for the power this bill gives the US.
quote:Originally posted by Dys7:
There are easy ways to get past the filter block though, so I'm not TOO worried.
Its not just a filter block, for example if the US shut downs the credit cards and paypal accounts and forms of payment for a website the website will not be able to pay for hosting. The site is shutdown.
Posted - 2012/01/19 : 09:12:36
Now I love americans, but the ruccus that is being made about this is really actually kind of annoying me (i'll start by stating, I am against it btw - though if you read this you'll probably end up thinking otherwise..but i hope my additions make some sense).
in the UK we have the Digital Economy Act which labour rushed through the house right at the end of their final term in power - which is essentially building on the same thing. That was 2 years ago, since then practically nothing has happened because it's been held up in the European Courts (due to a host of legal issues) so whilst we "have" it, we dont actually "have it" at all.
anyway, two things annoy me 01. the way that this effects others outside of the US is a really tenuious link, its based on the fact that we use (some) US websites, which may (or may not) shut down in protest or because of copywrited media, leaving us without..erm, well, to be honest - if a US site shuts down, it will just open up somewhere else (outside the US), by someone else (see a need fill a need etc etc) and on the pretense that websites would begin "screening themselves" so they will show up on search engines in the USA, again very unlikely there's more to the world than just the US. On the ACTA agreements, they claim the because they are international that somehow everyone will have to fall in place with the USA's rules - whereas ACTA tends to be there solely so that there is clarification over what is IP (interlectual property) what it defines and stretches to encompass counterfit goods (clothes etc, which does need an ACTA as that is international). after ACTA its then that individual countries go one step further as to how they deal with it (with acts like SOPA/DE in regards to digital media and others to cover other types of IP)
to summerise there, whilst there is always a chance other countries will follow suit after america leading by example - this is still just a bit of scaremongering to get people on the side that is against the bill
02. when the digital economy act was rushed through Americans didn't bother to come to our assistance, even though all the arguments they are making against SOPA are the same arguments against our DEA.
this leaves me feeling like "**** you America" and thats the first time i've felt like that, ever. lol
in short, despite what i've written, I am against it (as much as anyone who isnt in the primary country can be)
but at the same time I can't help feeling theres a massive bias of information and misinformation out there.
seriously, why couldn't they be bothered to pull this shit off whilst it was us with exactly the same thing under the hammer?? but now they're under the hammer and its going to effect EVERYONE so EVERYONE must come to their aid.
**in addition as I said DE is still being held up by the european courts, so it just show how hard this crap is to impliment anyway - perhaps one of the few things that the european courts have actually saved this country from?**
Posted - 2012/01/19 : 09:22:24
you (and I) can certainly pick holes in 01 btw - but essential I don't really care about that part, its 02 I actually care about.
quote:well, to be honest - if a US site shuts down, it will just open up somewhere else (outside the US)
I think people are not reading enough, the bill main purpose is to target websites in other countries where the US has no power by shutting down their payment methods, receiving methods, DNS, IP address' you name it... whatever the US can get their hand on.
Posted - 2012/01/19 : 12:30:53
^ again, these things will just move elsewhere. in many cases the US wouldnt be able to act anyway as they have no jurisdiction in other countrys, even if they give themselves it - which is where SOPA comes in, filtering out Sites which the USA is unable to do anything about.
I'm still more concerned about point #2, much more so, as to me point #2 massively overshadows #1.
I'd rather be discussing that point rather than seemingly arguing for a bill that I'm against.