Cheezburger Sites Join Reddit In January 18th Blackout
from the where-will-congress-get-its-lolcats-from? dept
Following on the news that Reddit will be blacking out its site for 12 hours on Wednesday, January 18th in protest of SOPA & PIPA, Cheezburger Network CEO Ben Huh has announced that all Cheezburger sites will be doing the same thing. I'm guessing that those who are unfamiliar with the massive size and reach of Cheezburger will scoff at this... but that would be a mistake. People love Cheezburger's collection of meme-related, meme-driving sites, and they reach a very very large population of folks who might not have already been aware of SOPA/PIPA.
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Filed Under: ben huh, black out, pipa, protect ip, sopa, support
Companies: cheezburger network, reddit
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This kind of hysterical behavior just looks stupid and could easily backfire by having people just start to tune out the hyperbole.
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Hyperbole is fine, as long as it has a purpose. And right now, the purpose is getting people aware. Is SOPA and PIPA pass, do you really think it will end there? Better to shut them down now, and set a precedent.
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Let's be realistic here. Since the ultimate goal of SOPA type legislation is censorship, then sites like REDDIT would definitely be targets. The puppet masters do not like the free flow of information, especially when it is about them.
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Re: Tuning Out
Incorrect. Any censorship system will affect all websites where politically unpopular speech is engaged in. That includes Reddit. Once a censorship system exists, a whole bunch of special interests will come after Reddit, which will get shut down. If you think this legislation is anything other than a long step towards a police state in USA, you are sadly mistaken. False accusation is the standard technique whereby elite persons get rid of inconvenient non-elite persons.
The founding fathers had just experienced a tyrannical government and they were subjected to all the ways that elite persons have of being nasty to anybody who says anything that they do not want to hear. That is why the first amendment is in the US Constitution.
Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it.
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Re: Re: Tuning Out
That is why they passed the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798).
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Guess I'm tuning out your hyperbole, then.
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Sure it would. It would be required to block links to certain sites to avoid liability under the bill.
The bill can't have Reddit blocked, but it does put legal and compliance costs on Reddit. All of the mechanisms involve efforts by US companies that will be costly.
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" First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak out because I was Protestant.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me."
Niemoller
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Then they came for...
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For starters, the bill places certain liability cost/constraints on all web entities. Larger entities like a Facebook or Google will likely be able to absorb those costs constraints. Reddit has already said it is quite likely it will not be able to.
Secondly, despite what we are told this bill can't/won't do, the Reddit community (and the rest of us) have already heard what we were told the DCMA couldn't/wouldn't do, what the Patriot Act couldn't/wouldn't do (and the list of bills goes on) and the misuses/abuses of those pieces of legislation are long and detailed. So telling everyone "well THIS time, we REALLY mean they won't/can't be abused" comes off like the hollow BS it is.
Thirdly, while SOPA/PIPA themselves might not allow certain things, we've already seen how the content industry and the US government like to pick and choose their bits from various sources to try to say things that aren't so.
More importantly, SOPA/PIPA do not exist in a void. Pressure is already being placed on other governments (in some cases already successfully) to enact SOPA/PIPA style legislation of their own. Then all that is needed is something like an ACTA (or a later bill that does to ACTA what SOPA does to the DCMA) to tie all those agreements together unilaterally. Then you just need one member of such a treaty to censor something and all the member state are legally "obligated" to do so as well (no we aren't blocking/shutting down site X because it violates SOPA-US, we are doing it because it violates SOPA-France and are mutual treaty blah blah blah).
And that's just three ways SOPA can/could have an affect on Reddit. There are certainly others.
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Hopefully, we can rid ourselves of him.
Maybe sopa is a good thing if we can do this.
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Best wishes,
Alex
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Oh noes!
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Re: Oh noes!
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Re: Oh noes!
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But honestly, closing down facebook and google... I would welcome that. These companies are involved in mass surveillance. And they don't just sell this info to other corporations. They sell it to governments. I remember an Internet when these giant corporations didn't exist and I liked it so much better. So I honestly feel that if the big corporations like Facebook and Google joined in on this and shut their 'services' down for a day it would have the opposite effect. If I didn't know about SOPA I would think it's something good if it gets rid of Facebook.
Just my 2 cents
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People using the "evils" of Facebook and Google as the argument for their services getting shut down are no better than SOPA supporters who decry the "evils" of sites/services such as Megaupload or the BitTorrent protocol -- sites/services which have numerous legal uses -- as the basis for passing laws like SOPA.
Facebook and Google certainly have room to improve when it comes to protecting users' privacy and information, but that shouldn't be the basis for saying "Facebook and Google should shut all their services down". Their services are legal and play an important role in sharing information/communicating around the world, and to punish the whole world because these companies' actions are a little less than ethical or moral or whatever is obscene.
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I do not mean to tear you down, but I hope you understand.
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You don't have to join Facebook
You don't have to use Google - you can use a non-tracking search engines like duck duck go.
You wouldn't have any choice under SOPA - and just think how little would be left standing after a bomb big enough to take out Google and Facebook was dropped.
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really?
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Re: really?
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/censor-me/
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All ur sites are belong to us!
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Go Cheezburger
When Google and his alliance decide to do a blackout and join them, wether is the same day or not, man......this will proove those jerks wrong......IF they think they are going to get away with that crap easily, they need to know...what internet can do. Don't underestimate memes, don't underestimate sillynes...when critical moments arrive...time to fight back!
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Lets Pass SOPA!!!
A: Retroactively reduce copy protection lengths to ten years or less.
B: Substantially reduce infringement damages.
C: Substantially increase damages for bogus infringement claims, even if accidental.
D: Ensure that copy protection liability can never be asserted against a service provider, restaurant, or other physical venue that hosts performers, only against those who actually infringe. Attempts to assert copy protections against service providers, restaurants, and other venues will quickly result in huge punitive damages against the plaintiffs upon summary judgement. There can be requirements from service providers to provide some necessary information to plaintiffs so that they can assert lawsuits, but information can only be issued to plaintiffs with court order after probable cause is shown. Then defendants can be contacted by the court to be given a brief opportunity to respond and be forced to appear in court and be tried only if the court finds that probable cause is still likely. Otherwise, defendants may still have their personal information remain hidden from plaintiffs and everyone else. Also, fair use needs to be expanded for independent performers. This will hopefully reduce the legal risk that restaurants and other venues must currently undergo to host independent performers.
E: Make copy protection opt in and require that it gets opt into a centralized database so that others can better reference the content and decipher infringing content from non-infringing content. All content must also be submitted to the library of congress who will store it in several separate locations so that when it finally does enter the public domain, the LOC can publicly make it available for all to freely access.
F: Omit all SOPA provisions that Mike Masnick doesn't like.
Does anyone else have any other suggestions to add?
If we can get the above provisions made, I'm all for SOPA. LETS PASS IT!!!!
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Re: Lets Pass SOPA!!!
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Sure, it may not cause my proposed provisions to get included into SOPA, but perhaps it can encourage more people to pressure congress to do something about our broken laws. If we want to fix our current laws we must start somewhere and spreading awareness is a good place to start.
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I would add in that media already subject to Copyright start and end dates can't have that term extended by any future new laws.
The "terrorist manifesto" is nearing completion... as they would call it.
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A Good Day For The English Language
I could handle the pictures, but I don't find the fact that people can't spell or use proper grammar amusing in the slightest.
No I don't work for the BBC and I'm not a member of the Royal Family, but I'm not in favour of encouraging people to speak/write in pidgeon English either.
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Re: A Good Day For The Engrish Language
Look, I don't "get it" either. But, if some people like this kind of stuff, why not just let them be and do their thing? Complaining about it just makes you look old.
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Re: A Good Day For The English Language
Not just cats...
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Globally nobody gives a f*.
Maybe Samuel Clemens should have found another way through text to express urban colloquialisms rather than use all the poor grammar and spelling? Or maybe its you...
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Re: A Good Day For The English Language
Sorriz, I cantz understandz youz evor.
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Internet Out
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Americans Revolt Against Copyright Powergrab
But the game is up. Scientists, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and First Amendment advocates have come out strongly against the legislation, while bringing attention to the public at large."
http://www.forbes.com/sites/garyshapiro/2012/01/11/americans-revolt-against-copyright-powergrab/
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Google
The same with Youtube just a black page 'This is your world under SOPA/PIPA if allowed to pass' a link to relevant informational site.. and a countdown timer 'Regular service will now be restored' ...
That WILL get peoples attention.. the congress critters may even get pressure from their own families to drop it... big media will not be able to ignore it... it will be totally in everyones face...
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You mean backward baseball cap wearing, beer swilling, board short wearing, 35 year old frat boys?
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Where do you get your stereotypes?
http://cheezburger.com/throwinglanterns/lolz/View/1161760000
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I'm worried
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NOES!!!
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