How Other Parts Of The World View SOPA
from the not-good dept
We keep pointing out just how disastrous SOPA and PIPA look from a diplomatic perspective. Just as the US is going around talking about the importance of internet freedom, to start pushing a bill that involves censorship (and yes, it is censorship) looks really bad. SOPA supporters like to point to Hillary Clinton's letter that said there's no conflict between internet freedom and copyright enforcement. But she did not comment specifically on the bills at issue -- and furthermore her statement is wrong. There doesn't have to be conflict between the two, but you can't say there's never conflict between the two, because you could easily design a rule that proves otherwise (e.g., "we shut down the entire internet to prevent infringement.") The State Department, frankly, is having a really tough time straddling both sides of this debate, because everything they say about the importance of internet freedom acts as the perfect arguments against SOPA.But, really, the true test of the diplomatic impact of SOPA on the international community is not what the State Department says... it's what those other countries say. And they seem pretty shocked that this is the path the US is going down. Here are two examples. First up, we have the Voice of Russia, noting that the US is joining China in censoring the internet:
The US and the West have long criticized China for stifling dissent and for censorship but now they are not only joining China but they are taking censorship even further and attempting to censor the whole world.Considering Russia has a bit of a history using copyright law to stifle political critics... folks there certainly know exactly how censorship via copyright can lead to much more than just protecting a few companies.
The international implications of SOPA are worrying for as experts claim: it appears that the US is taking control of the entire world. The definitions written in the bill are so broad that any US user who uses a website overseas immediately gives the US the power to potentially take action against it and enable them to force ISPs to DNS-block any foreign site.
On a global scale it grants the U.S. Government far-reaching powers to go after Web sites which it claims are hosting copyrighted content.... Not long ago the U.S. admitted that it was in a state of information warfare and that it was losing the war. So what do you do if you are losing the information war? You muzzle the messenger.
Now, let's jump over to the Middle East, where Al Jazeera is pointing out the State Department's rank hypocrisy on this subject, assuming that Clinton's letter was, in fact, in support of SOPA, and showing how that seems to undermine the rest of the State Department's arguments for internet freedom around the globe -- especially when it comes to circumvention tools:
Even if Clinton truly believes that SOPA doesn't harm the US's diplomatic position on internet freedom around the world, it sure looks like large parts of the rest of the world disagree. The site TorrentFreak recently had a caption contest about a photo showing MPAA boss Chris Dodd sharing a hearty laugh with Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui. Perhaps they were laughing about how the bill that Dodd is pushing is the perfect cover for the Chinese the next time the State Department asks them to stop censoring the internet.In the year and a half since, the State Department has had limited success promoting online awareness and circumvention tools in foreign countries. But given SOPA's incredibly broad definitions of which sites are liable under its censorship provisions - merely claiming the site "engages in, enables or facilitates" infringement is enough - it won't be long until the bill destroys social networks that spread news of protests and the anonymity software that keep activists protected.
Many tech groups worry social networks such as Facebook - which were instrumental in organising protests in Egypt - would be at risk under SOPA. Brooklyn Law School professor Derek Bambauer also argues YouTube, which hosts countless human rights videos, would be "clearly unlawful", since it allows users to upload videos that may contain copyrighted content. While Google and Facebook may have enough money and lawyers to fend off lawsuits and court orders without being shut down completely, emerging social networks in foreign countries would not. Any site hosting videos, even if they are used to draw attention to human rights abuses, will be easily derailed if an overzealous copyright holder decides to use one alleged violation to strangle the whole site.
But circumvention tools - which allow activists to foil internet censors and evade government surveillance - would be the bill's greatest casualties. While many are developed explicitly for human rights advocates, they can also be used to download copyrighted content. Tor, the anonymising software that masks users' IP addresses that was instrumental during Egypt protests, would be a prime target of copyright holders, despite being funded by the US government.
In fact, most of internet freedom programmes currently funded by State Department are in danger. Hillary has pledged millions of dollars to various companies to create a "shadow" internet "that dissidents can use to undermine repressive governments", according to the New York Times. But by endorsing SOPA, Hillary is giving the green light to copyright holders to destroy it. Virtual Private Networks, proxies, privacy or anonymisation software could all potentially be deemed illegal if they can also help get around SOPA's censorship mechanisms.
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Filed Under: censorship, copyright, free speech, hillary clinton, hypocrisy, internet freedom, middle east, protect ip, russia, sopa
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OOO, perhaps!
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Re: OOO, perhaps!
THEN, China will start charging US firms dodecatuple times what they're charging now for the manufacturing process.
THEN, hilarity ensues.
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Re: OOO, perhaps!
I can see it now. An application to simultaneously share internet connections. They can use ours to look up the actions of the tyrannical dictators of their past and we can use it to bypass the oppressive present in ours.
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Re: OOO, perhaps!
On the one hand, we want to go around the world condemning censorship and promoting a free and open internet whenever we can point a finger at another country to say they've done wrong. We want to speak out against countries like China, Iran, Libya, and the rest for not allowing their citizens a voice. We even want to fund the development of services like TOR and other technologies to help fight censorship and ensure communications for citizens under the thumb of an oppressive regime. But we are showing the world we have a very "do as I say, not as I do" attitude when it come to practicing that which we preach.
On the other hand we want to try and pass legislation like SOPA/PIPA which allows for the very same censorship that we were just speaking out against. It's amazing to me how boldly two-faced we can present ourselves on the global stage.
The rest of the world sees this double standard, and just like you said, they'll soon be providing tools to circumvent American censorship initiatives just the same as America has done to aid those oppressed.
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...Ah, here we are!
Russia and Al Jazeera are against this, therefore if you're against SOPA you're for Marxism and terrorism!
Didn't you forget already? If you're against SOPA you're against protecting our troops!
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111115/17200316783/sopa-sponsors-pass-sopa-to-protect- troops-everyone-else-wtf.shtml
If you're against our troops, and for terrorism, you're obviously an Al Qaeda and your site needs to be shut down by the TSA! (How's the TSA related to this? Please consult ICE operations manual chapter 17 paragraphs 73-B and 92-C)
(Disclaimer for the dense: I am well aware that Al Jazeera is not a terrorist organization)
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Masnick's affinity for nations and their propaganda arms that are hostile to the US and US interests is hardly newsworthy. He's been pandering to Russian media for some time now. His attempts to legitimize Al Jazeera are a repugnant joke. There appears to be no toilet that Masnick won't gladly swim in to further undermine copyright and promote continued, rampant infringement.
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I have no affinity for them. I am pointing out what they're saying. Do you deny that this bill that you are supporting is now being to used to justify atrocious censorship elsewhere?
He's been pandering to Russian media for some time now
Oh really? Like the time I called RTTV clueless for its bogus reporting: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111004/14511116199/no-supreme-court-did-not-legalize-downloading. shtml
And did you not notice in this very post I called out examples of Russia censorship?
I mean, seriously... You really are a piece of work. Can't your bosses hire someone competent to smear me?
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This post is a bit like being against our war activities and quoting the Westboro cult as a supporting viewpoint.
Be mindful of your friends as they determine your enemies.
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Al Jazeera and VoR are news sources, not gov'ts, and have fairly substantial pull in their locales. While at times hyperbolic, they are a good informal litmus test of the popular perception of SOPA in their locales.
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Seemed to the trick anyway, and deadpan delivery is the only delivery.
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Now, if I want to hear criticism on Russia's government, for example, I would choose someone else. But for US news they are refreshingly straightforward.
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Now taking bets on when they will be SOPA'd in the event it passes.
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Irony alert
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You seem to assume the world overlooks eternal wars,
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Re: You seem to assume the world overlooks eternal wars,
Who are you and how did you hack blue's account?
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Re: You seem to assume the world overlooks eternal wars,
He's either got multiple personalities, or he must have a bitch of a time with cognitive dissonance.
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Re: Re: You seem to assume the world overlooks eternal wars,
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Re: Re: You seem to assume the world overlooks eternal wars,
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Re: You seem to assume the world overlooks eternal wars,
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wow
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http://www.hktdc.com/info/web/mi/article.htm?LANGUAGE=en&ARTICLE_ID=1X07P5XO&DATASOU RCE=baus
From a Hong Kong perspective
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Human rights violations?
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No No No No No!
When the government censors you because you're saying something the government doesn't like, that's bad.
When the government censors you because you're saying something that a corporation doesn't like, that's perfectly reasonable!
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That may very well be true, but the fact that your elected representatives are pushing for these laws does very little other than to create the perception that the majority of US citizens support these actions ...
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Re:
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They want to censor us then I say this means WAR.Go ahead and open up the door of Censorship and see what that gives you.If so then I would certainly join any protest at bringing down the Internet Government Sites,hacking into their Networks and destroying them with viruses,causing Internet Mayhem and bringing down CC Cardsites,Banks,MPAA,RIAA, and other Corporate Asses.I will gladly go to Jail for standing up for the rights I would of lost due to a bunch of sold-out asses.
We may have to face tough choices if these toilet paper bills pass and then I hope the doors of insurrection open wide in response.
WE, as Citizens should only have to take so much and letting this door to Censorship open even a crack goes against everything we stand for in our great and FREE COUNTRY.
We will no longer be FREE ! So we should act like those who also are not free and fight the system any way we can.
Sorry if you do not like this but if these pass we will have to have a response.We should not go down for the count without a fight.
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They want to censor us then I say this means WAR.Go ahead and open up the door of Censorship and see what that gives you.If so then I would certainly join any protest at bringing down the Internet Government Sites,hacking into their Networks and destroying them with viruses,causing Internet Mayhem and bringing down CC Cardsites,Banks,MPAA,RIAA, and other Corporate Asses.I will gladly go to Jail for standing up for the rights I would of lost due to a bunch of sold-out asses.
We may have to face tough choices if these toilet paper bills pass and then I hope the doors of insurrection open wide in response.
WE, as Citizens should only have to take so much and letting this door to Censorship open even a crack goes against everything we stand for in our great and FREE COUNTRY.
We will no longer be FREE ! So we should act like those who also are not free and fight the system any way we can.
Sorry if you do not like this but if these pass we will have to have a response.We should not go down for the count without a fight.
Other than a set of balls and any talent, what is preventing you from taking action right now?
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