RIAA, Chamber Of Commerce: Censorship Via COICA Is Okay, Because Other Countries Censor Too

from the you-must-censor! dept

While the COICA bill introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy and Orin Hatch was initially designed to be rushed through Congress, after people pointed out that it pretty clearly violated due process and prohibitions against prior restraint, the Senators realized they needed to hold off for a bit. Everyone has expected that it will be back on the agenda after the midterm elections, and now a bunch of companies and organizations, including the RIAA and the Chamber of Commerce have asked Leahy to move forward with the bill, immediately following the elections.

But most amusing of all is how they brush off the concerns about First Amendment violations and blatant censorship by the US government, at the same time as the US government is putting political pressure on countries that censor the web:
"some foreign countries have engaged in political censorship long before this bill was introduced and they will continue to do so regardless of whether this legislation is enacted."
Say what?!? So it's okay for the US government to censor the web, because other countries censor as well? I recognize that their argument is that this won't change how other countries view censorship, but even that's wrong. The US is pressuring other countries not to censor the web by claiming a moral high ground. It seems particularly hypocritical to undermine that moral high ground by blatantly censoring the web as well, and then saying "but it's okay for us, because it's about protecting these companies." That just makes it easy for those other countries to respond, "well, then it's okay for us, because it's about protecting our government/way of life/etc."
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Filed Under: censorship, coica
Companies: chamber of commerce, riaa


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 4:40am

    DOOM quote for COICA:

    "Die! Die! Die!"

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    abc gum, 22 Oct 2010 @ 4:57am

    Is that a typo?
    It should be spelled "CACA"

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Wolfy, 22 Oct 2010 @ 5:04am

    Each day that goes by, and every law that gets twisted to the point where the law benefits the white collar criminals more than the people from whom it derives it's power, I get more and more afraid that I'll have to build a rifle.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 22 Oct 2010 @ 5:24am

    "Billy next door is allowed to stay up past 10"

    Other countries cut off people's hands for stealing things. Other countries kill their women if they're seen in public.

    I don't think we want to be walking down that "other countries do this" road.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Marcel de Jong (profile), 22 Oct 2010 @ 5:28am

    Because my neighbour murdered his wife, I should also be able to hit my wife. WTF?! RIAA, I know you lost your ever-loving mind long ago, but even this shouldn't make sense to your weird thought processes.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Ed C., 22 Oct 2010 @ 5:34am

    Didn't you know, they're just chimps indiscriminately flinging poo until some of it sticks.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 6:13am

    2 more traitors to the people.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 6:25am

    When you build your own rifle, it's untraceable.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    theskyrider, 22 Oct 2010 @ 6:31am

    already worked around

    as CNet has already noted in this article:
    http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20020408-38.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3 -0-20

    This bill would be a massive waste of time in any case. If you know the IP address of the site you are connecting to, then you can still connect. I've already queried DNS and all my favorite sites (including Techdirt) are backed up.

    Also, since most sites hosting 'naughty things' are located outside the US, all one would have to do is add a domain name with the country code instead. Instead of 'www.mytorrentsite.com' one could go with 'www.mytorrentsite.ca.'

    The following might be right or wrong:

    One bad thing about this that the government might not appreciate. If the US passes this law, the DNS system is going to get thrown into an uproar.

    The DNS system is designed for changes to propagate throughout the network. If this law is passed, I am assuming that the so-called domain name seizures will be handled on a DNS-server level. IE - www.piratesite.com will be forwarded to www.doj.gov.

    If there are some countries that don't want to implement this US LAW (which there might be in the beginning.) then they will have to shut down/disable/hand-sort DNS updates that are supposed to propagate automatically.

    So, lets say that Renraw Brothers Pictures is getting ready to release this HOT NEW MOVIE and they set up a website for it. "HOTNEWMOVIE.COM" gets put together and put out to all the social networking sites, etc. "HOTNEWMOVIE.COM" is supposed to point to 192.168.1.109/192.168.1.110, but for some reason it don't work outside the US.

    That's because some DNS Gateway Updater (new position that had to be created in other countries to make sure that crappy American law didn't affect domain names outside the US.) went on vacation a day early and the "HOTNEWMOVIE.COM" update didn't get pushed out to the international DNS Servers.

    That is, if I'm correct about how this law works. I might be wrong.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 4:50pm

      Re: already worked around

      I don't think it would be worthless even if it specifies something that is technically inept. If the bill is passed it would solidify intent. Then later, when someone explains to them that dns blocking isn't very effective, they'll start blocking in other ways by clarifying what is already in place, either by specifying a more effective technical measure, or simply imposing massive fines on any provider who doesn't block effectively, shifting the burden of implementation onto them.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    out_of_the_blue, 22 Oct 2010 @ 6:40am

    It's a formula: "so long as X is worse, we're great".

    A favorite of US politicians. Goes right along with US exceptionalism, as in "WE torture only BAD people for the RIGHT reasons, therefore it's perfectly moral".

    And you fall prey to the relativist trend, Mike, with what I hope is merely misguided attempt at irony: "most amusing of all". If you're disgusted or outraged, at least don't undermine the meaning of words. I'm sure you think that's OKAY because YOU do it, and you're a good person, or at least are sure of your motives, but when communicating, it's hazardous.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 7:50am

      Re: It's a formula: "so long as X is worse, we're great".

      Yeah, 'amusing' isn't the word I'd've used. '...should make any thinking person crap their pants' would be more appropriate.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 7:23am

    "including the RIAA and the Chamber of Commerce have asked Leahy to move forward with the bill, immediately following the elections. "

    This is almost an admission that congress isn't expected to follow the will of the people, but instead, only the will of corporate interests. Since this bill is against the will of the people it will make it more difficult for congressmen pushing for it to get (re)elected. So drop it for now and after the election you should continue it.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 15 Nov 2010 @ 4:47am

      Re:

      That's true, but it's also a worry that the new Congress may be less friendly to the bill. Opposition to a previous version of the bill, the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act, came primarily from Republicans (See Declan here.)

      The current bill is sponsored by Sens. Hatch and the retiring Voinovich on the GOP side, and Sens. Leahy and Whitehouse, Schumer, Kohl, Specter, Durbin, Feinstein, and the retiring Bayh on the Democratic side.

      Nothing to say that the newly elected Republicans will be against the bill, but the side pushing it wants to act now rather than take that chance.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Ziro_Opinion (profile), 22 Oct 2010 @ 7:32am

    Maybe...

    we should start a rumor that all of the other elected officials, lobbyists, and special interest groups are jumping off the Brooklyn bridge and maybe these enema bags will follow suit! What I don't understand is why every big tech company including Google is not lobbying AGAINST COICA. They stand a lot to lose with the current level of legal activity being slung around between them. How does one go about forming a public lobbying group to fight this thing? Tea partiers, where you at?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 7:40am

      Re: Maybe...

      Vote libertarian and pirate partisan.

      Tea party? Lol, they're the republican party rehashed. Don't expect them to do anything besides serve corporate interests. Democrats are no better either.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        SLK8ne, 22 Oct 2010 @ 11:58am

        Re: Re: Maybe...

        You think the Libertarians haven't been compromised?

        The problem is that any group that rises up to challenge the major parties in the US is going to need money (which is why we've had only two parties for so long) and money is why any group challenging the system can be suborned long before they become a threat.

        Don't look to the parties, look to the internet and social networking. Until the majority of people understand that all the parties are the problem and band together informally, outside the party system, nothing will change.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Suzanne Lainson (profile), 22 Oct 2010 @ 12:33pm

          Re: Re: Re: Maybe...

          Until the majority of people understand that all the parties are the problem and band together informally, outside the party system, nothing will change.

          A lot of people think we are on the verge of a major international overhaul. The financial meltdown has pointed up some flaws in capitalism, and the rise of China as a economic power is changing power structures. And dependence on oil has skewed political alliances.

          Who would have thought a few years ago that what Detroit would become the innovative center of urban gardens? Talk about localism of food supply. It doesn't get more local than growing your own on abandoned urban lots.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 19 Dec 2010 @ 3:45pm

      Re: Maybe...

      demandprogress.org/mission is a lobbying group trying to fight this. You can sign a petition and even donate money to help them fight it

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    ervserver (profile), 22 Oct 2010 @ 7:36am

    3 words

    Supreme court challenge

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Killer_Tofu (profile), 22 Oct 2010 @ 7:46am

    Copyright as it is

    "but it's okay for us, because it's about protecting these companies."

    I thought that was copyright's whole purpose these days? To protect a handful of companies and lazy rich people.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 7:50am

      Re: Copyright as it is

      That was the original purpose of copy protection laws (and patents). Unfortunately, it's still the purpose.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 7:51am

    i knew it

    THE RIAA is a communist plot

    DAMN COMMIES

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    TDR, 22 Oct 2010 @ 7:54am

    Perhaps someone should organize a picket to keep the Congressmen from getting back inside the Congress building until they agree to kill COICA and ACTA.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Hephaestus (profile), 22 Oct 2010 @ 8:26am

    This lame duck session is going to be fun to watch.
    COICA, a 200 billion dollar pension bail out for the unions, funding for various progressive (ie socialist) projects, Anti coal and oil legislation, and a huge amount of legislation to redistribute wealth.

    I wonder how many of our rights are going to be tramped?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    rich56 (profile), 22 Oct 2010 @ 8:59am

    Didn't we already do this?!

    Funny... or TRAGIC! Didn't we already go down this road already with TORTURE?! Other countries torture, so it's OK if we do it?! Where did that get us? Haven't we brought America down to everyone else's level enough? It's time to take the high ground -- it used to be when I travelled outside the US, I was proud of my country! We have to get that feeling back!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 10:06am

    Nobody follow loosers since China is the biggest winner in this times everybody wants to be like China now right?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    SLK8ne, 22 Oct 2010 @ 11:49am

    Holy sheep dip Batty-girl

    Good night! Well, guess what other countries have denied their citizens civil rights in the past. Other countries have perpetrated pogroms and genocide on their own population. So, I guess we'd better get ready for the gas chambers for anyone who breaks the law. If this is their attitude RIAA should be listed as a hate group.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 12:34pm

    The status of the legislation (as I understand it) is that one problematic provision (the "blacklist") was being removed, leaving just the provisions pertaining to actions in rem, actions that have long been an integral part of US jurisprudence.

    The legislation is quite limited in scope, and to call it "censorship" is to give a new and expansive meaning to "hyperbole".

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Suzanne Lainson (profile), 22 Oct 2010 @ 12:58pm

    It's keeping big media afloat

    There's a tidy loop that allows more corporations to fund political ads which go to keep the newspapers and TV stations afloat. If you want to change the country you really need to look at political funding. And maybe it's time to start looking at governing more via consensus and interactive planning that clearly lays out all the options and lets everyone try out various scenarios via computer first, to see what the consequences will be.

    John Roberts' America - NYTimes.com: "Colorado is ground zero for what’s happening in John Roberts’s America, competing for the dubious distinction of being the top state in the nation for spending by shadowy outside groups telling people how to vote."

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    BearGriz72 (profile), 22 Oct 2010 @ 5:53pm

    I Call Bull$hit

    Senators Patrick Leahy and Orrin Hatch should be hanged, shot, drawn and quartered, and burned on a pyre. This is criminal disloyalty to The Constitution of the United States of America

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    BearGriz72 (profile), 22 Oct 2010 @ 5:55pm

    Comment Held for Moderation...

    "Thanks for your comment.
    It will be reviewed by our staff before it is posted.
    "

    Wow that is a first for me... I wonder what I did ...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 22 Oct 2010 @ 11:15pm

      Re: Comment Held for Moderation...

      Poor sentence structure... but we forgive you :)
      "be hanged, shot, drawn and quartered, and burned on a pyr"

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    ChibiAlien, 2 Nov 2010 @ 5:12am

    Now America will have something in common with other countries. Sure those countries deprive people of civil liberties, and have a terrible track record of human rights violations...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    DrClue, 3 Nov 2010 @ 4:54pm

    COICA vs WikiLeaks

    Try this one on for size. DOJ decides that materials leaked to whistle blower sites like WikiLeaks are IP, and so entitle the government to remove the DNS entry for any site that references evidence of wrong doing because the evidence is the governments intellectual property.

    "Fear is easy to sell, with the price of purchase being but your FREEDOM" --DrClue

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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