SOPA Education. What is SOPA (for you rock dwellers)

• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-12-16 05:16

  Imagine a world in which any intellectual property holder can, without ever appearing before a judge or setting foot in a courtroom, shut down any website's online advertising programs and block access to credit card payments. The credit card processors and the advertising networks would be required to take quick action against the named website; only the filing of a "counter notification" by the website could get service restored.
  
  It's the world envisioned by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) in today's introduction of the Stop Online Piracy Act in the US House of Representatives. This isn't some off-the-wall piece of legislation with no chance of passing, either; it's the House equivalent to the Senate's PROTECT IP Act, which would officially bring Internet censorship to the US as a matter of law.
  
  Calling its plan a "market-based system to protect US customers and prevent US funding of sites dedicated to theft of US property," the new bill gives broad powers to private actors. Any holder of intellectual property rights could simply send a letter to ad network operators like Google and to payment processors like MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal, demanding these companies cut off access to any site the IP holder names as an infringer.
  
  The scheme is much like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) "takedown notices," in which a copyright holder can demand some piece of content be removed from sites like YouTube with a letter. The content will be removed unless the person who posted the content objects; at that point, the copyright holder can decide if it wants to take the person to court over the issue.
  
  Here, though, the stakes are higher. Rather than requesting the takedown of certain hosted material, intellectual property owners can go directly for the jugular: marketing and revenue for the entire site. So long as the intellectual property holders include some "specific facts" supporting their infringement claim, ad networks and payment processors will have five days to cut off contact with the website in question.
  
  The scheme is largely targeted at foreign websites which do not recognize US law, and which therefore will often refuse to comply with takedown requests. But the potential for abuse-even inadvertent abuse-here is astonishing, given the terrifically outsized stick with which content owners can now beat on suspected infringers.

  
  
  http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/10/house-takes-senates-bad-internet-censorship-bill-makes-it-worse.ars
  
  What this means to you?
  the following goes bye bye
  * Mods
  * "Let's Play" videos
  * Video replays
  * Video reviews and commentary
  * Unofficial game guides
  * The taking, hosting, and sharing of screenshots, artistic or otherwise
  * Image forums (Reddit, 4chan)
  
  that's right
  no more mods for video games
  no more modding communities
  
  

  [Image: http://americancensorship.org/infographic.png]

  
  
  http://americancensorship.org/infographic.html
• Chockeh wrote on 2011-12-16 05:21
  This f*cking sucks. This may affect us Canadians too in the long run.
• Zid wrote on 2011-12-16 05:24
  Wasn't too hard to mail a letter to a rep of House.
  
  Haven't bothered with Senate yet.
• Northwind wrote on 2011-12-16 16:32
  For once happy about living in Finland :I
• Akemii wrote on 2011-12-16 16:37

  Quote from Northwind;694764:

  For once happy about living in Finland :I

  
  
  It'll get to you eventuallly.
• Sedia wrote on 2011-12-16 16:41
  So that would mean I can't draw fanart and post it on Nation or my DeviantArt.....
  
  And no more Steve and Larson's Top 10.
  
  I heard from a friend that the bill is losing. I hope she was correct.
• Chockeh wrote on 2011-12-16 23:53

  Quote from Akemii;694767:

  It'll get to you eventuallly.

  
  
  May it never happen to Canada.
• Ninjam wrote on 2011-12-17 07:55
  I think ive said this before, but if this passes and things start happening like that, its not going to stop piracy. There has always been piracy, even without the internet people shared games and files with burnable disks and stuff. Not only will it not work, it can cause people to loose there jobs. I was reading articals on cracked.com, and in a lot of them they mention and talk about in detail products and copyrighted information. Im sure this isnt the only one, fansites for lots of games could be taken down, forums would have to use more strict censorship on there users, and less people will be making money on the internet from ads on there sites.
  
  Now, what im thinking is, if the low job market is already causing riots, if more people loose there jobs because big cooperations want to cut down on piracy losses whats going to happen?
  
  You have people mad about loosing there jobs or website income, and now you also have people angry about internet censorship and not being able to freely post and use information.
  
  There will be riots, or at least a very public backlash.
• Cannibal wrote on 2011-12-17 08:07
  I think all of you in other countries are missing how much this is actually going to affect you if it passes.
• Rydian wrote on 2011-12-17 08:35

  Quote from Nexon;695846:

  I think all of you in other countries are missing how much this is actually going to affect you if it passes.

  Agreed.
  
  The internet started in the US and (so) the US physically houses a couple major DNS/backbones and things of that nature... and if it's on US soil it's under US law, right? And not to mention multi-national companies that would be affected by having either a major portion or any portion in the US.
• Northwind wrote on 2011-12-18 19:14

  Quote from Rydian;695853:

  Agreed.
  
  The internet started in the US and (so) the US physically houses a couple major DNS/backbones and things of that nature... and if it's on US soil it's under US law, right? And not to mention multi-national companies that would be affected by having either a major portion or any portion in the US.

  
  
  brb starting a riot
• Episkey wrote on 2011-12-18 19:27
  Hmmm. So this is what I am seeing on Facebook everywhere.
  Never knew what is was. Guess I'm a rock-dweller :p
  
  The moment I saw that "Let's Play" videos could be affected ... Yeah.
  I don't like it when people interrupt me watching Let's Play videos, let alone taking them down :shoe:
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-12-18 23:38
  Again, this is mostly silly kids making noise and over-dramatizing it over nothing. For example, "Let's Play" videos wouldn't be affected more than they already are. They can be taken down via DMCA if the game's publisher wants to do so, right now. But that makes no sense for them to do, so they don't take em down. This won't change.
• Rydian wrote on 2011-12-19 00:02

  Quote from Yoorah;697300:

  Again, this is mostly silly kids making noise and over-dramatizing it over nothing. For example, "Let's Play" videos wouldn't be affected more than they already are. They can be taken down via DMCA if the game's publisher wants to do so, right now. But that makes no sense for them to do, so they don't take em down. This won't change.

  Isn't a main difference here that anybody can submit a request? Who's to stop me from being a dick and flagging a video/site I don't like simply because I don't like it?
  
  I mean even under the current system companies manage to take down videos just because they don't like them, without them even having any infringing material.
  http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-57344570-245/mystery-surrounds-universals-takedown-of-megaupload-youtube-video/
• Compass wrote on 2011-12-19 00:07
  I pretty sure this won't pass and if it does I have a feeling that'll it cause an uproar and be taken down.
  The riot will probably be caused by anonymous and we all know they don't back down.