Send A Sympathy Card Over The Death Of The Internet To Your Senator

from the condolences dept

Mon, Jan 16th 2012 2:05pm — Mike Masnick

Alexis Ohanion, founder of Reddit (and Hipmunk and Breadpig), is kicking off a neat campaign to send condolence cards to Senators, mourning the "death of the internet" in response to the effort to move forward with PIPA. In a video he put together, he questions why our elected officials, who admit they don't understand the technology, seem to have no problem at all moving forward with a bill regulating that same technology -- and shows the condolence card he's sending to his own Senators in New York. " He separately notes how odd it is that in this era of political gridlock, where almost nothing can get done in Congress, so many in Congress jump to push through bad legislation they don't understand -- written by the entertainment industry -- while ignoring the many real problems this country faces...

Because I can already hear some of the SOPA/PIPA supporters out there revving up the "but it doesn't kill the internet!" cries, let's dig into that issue. No one is saying that it kills off the entire internet, so that it goes away. What we've been saying all along is that it kills the established legal framework under which the internet has grown and thrived for decades. That's a big deal. Multiple studies have shown that the protection from secondary liability is a large part of what enabled the internet to grow the way it did, and to build the kinds of innovative new services that have shown up over the years. Taking that away doesn't mean that "the internet" goes away -- but it does mean that the key protections on which the internet were built are put at significant risk or, in some cases, wiped out. That's pretty scary if you want to see new internet services built up and to see existing ones grow. Under such conditions, sympathy cards seem perfectly reasonable.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: alexis ohanion, death of the internet, pipa, protect ip, senators, sopa, sympathy card

63 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 2:19pm

How long before someone suggests that sending sympathy cards are a veiled threat against the lives of the senators and congressmen who receive them.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 2:19pm

I want to send them another card congratulating them for the death of democracy.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 2:21pm

"established legal framework"

It is not clear what established legal framework you are talking about.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 2:23pm

Re:
The one with the laws. That we're working with right now. That are allowing the movie industry and music industry to thrive, as well as the tech industry. Those laws make up the legal framework. The DMCA, ProIP (as much as I hate it, it counts now that it's law), Copyright Law, Patent Law, etc... That's the legal framework that's been established thus far.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 2:29pm

One way to put it is, "PIPA kills the internet as we know it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 2:39pm

What i'd like to see now is Eric Schmidt coming out and saying "Hey guys, we're moving to Iceland".
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 2:41pm

Forget sympathy cards
I'm going to let them know how I really feel.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Rikuo (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 2:44pm

Re: Forget sympathy cards
While I would Lamar Smith et al to get what you're advertising there, I do feel sorry for the employees of the company - I can barely imagine being paid to shovel poop into a box and mailing it...and repeating ad nauseum for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 2:53pm

Re:
As the pirates know it, yup. And that was inevitable.

That Alexis guy got thoroughly schooled on MSNBC, not just by the NBC VP, but eventually by once-sympathetic host Chris Hayes also- who used words like "specious" and "dubious" towards Mr. Reddit's hilarious FUD.

I love that this issue is totally out in the open now, and the pirates are wearing no clothes.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 2:54pm

Re: Forget sympathy cards
How could you even think of possibly doing that to this poor Senator! He is the most honest politician the US has, i.e one that's once bought stays bought...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:00pm

Re: Re:
it's all hyberbole, pirates/freetards and rogue sites are all desperate to destroy this bill as it ends there free ride.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
gorehound (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:01pm

I will fight for my freedom.I am so sick of this corrupt Government.The whole SOPA/PIPA thing is a giant roadsign for Corruption.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:01pm

Re: Re:
awwwww your cute when you lie to yourself
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:02pm

Re: Re:
Yeah, because criticizing people and their position without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves is really schooling them.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:05pm

Re: Re:
TAKE ME TO YOUR DEALER!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:05pm

What I find funny is that people didn't noticed that the anti-circumvention measures in those bills actually make it illegal to have forensic and diagnostic tools for networks LoL

Wireshark like any other network traffic dumper would be illegal under those terms, imaging tech is today illegal thanks to the DMCA since they can make bit by bit copies of DVD's is just nobody noticed yet.

I wonder how authorities will investigate anything if the tools they need that are developed by others outside the government right now didn't exist, how would they track anything if they can't record the traffic that goes from one point to the other or if they couldn't do a copy of the hard disk of a suspect because those tools are illegal.

Wireshark, tcpdump, dd, ddrescue etc.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:19pm

Re:
I so miss the time when people told each other "I will murder you!" and nobody cared, it was just an expression, now apparently we live in an age of cowards.

Yes I know, an anonymous coward calling others coward, but paraphrasing Bette Midler "I have my courage. It's low, but I have it." :)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:21pm

Illegal forensic tools the government is using right now.
http://www.cftt.nist.gov/

Apparently the government can't even fallow their own laws since they promote the tools that can bypass copy protection.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Rikuo (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:23pm

Re: Re:
Wait...what? When did that happen? Didn't the host start the program showing how ridiculous current copyright laws are? Wasn't every single one of the NBC VP's points trashed? Like his constant badgering about jobs, and how that was trashed by the guy sitting right next to him citing the GAO report?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:23pm

Illegal forensic tools the government is using right now.
NIST: Welcome to the Computer Forensics Tool Testing (CFTT) Project Web Site

Apparently the government can't even fallow their own laws since they promote the tools that can bypass copy protection.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:30pm

Re: Re:
I hope you are right so police can now takedown the pirate haven from the NIST that is promoting and testing pirate tools that can be used to bypass all security measures put in place by copyright owners.

http://www.cftt.nist.gov/disk_imaging.htm

Stop piracy by stopping those tools from being created.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jay (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:30pm

Re: Re: Re:
All Cotton did was talk louder.

Although, Alex could have done a better job in getting his argument out. He missed a few opportunities to make Cotton look like even more of a tool.

I'd like to think that the rogue websites argument could be taken down by point out that Google.ca would be liable for domain seizure. Not to mention that the "threat to jobs" comes from the implimentation of SOPA/PIPA, not the debunking of the need for it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:35pm

Protection from secondary liability is what enables anybody to thrive, on and off the Internet. When you get randomly punished for things done by entities other than you, you might just as well give up.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
william (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 3:51pm

No body says it's going to kill the Internet. The Internet will still be around.

Just as the communists didn't kill China. China is still around and is called People's *Republic* of China
[ link to this | view in thread ]
TheNutman69321 (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 4:13pm

Re: Re:
Pirates internet isn't gonna change at all. Pirates are one of the few groups who are gonna barely be touched at all by this legislation.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
MahaliaShere (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:08pm

Re: Re: Re:
Please explain why an Indie artist should not have the right to share their work over bittorrent, cyberlocker, or any other site that allows user-generated content?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:08pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Reddit employs *11* people. Eleven.

Tens of thousands of record label employees have lost their jobs because their employer's content is being ripped off and thus they can't afford to employ as many people.

Cotton told the truth. It is about jobs.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:10pm

Re: Re: Re:
The GAO report didn't prove anything.

Hard facts like revenue destruction and layoffs are the tangible reasons this legislation is necessary.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:11pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Please explain how SOPA would stop that, you ridiculous, lying buffoon.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:13pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
By taking down "bittorrent, cyberlocker, or any other site that allows user-generated content" ?
was that really so hard ?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:15pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Those jobs aren't coming back though. So much for a tangible reason.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:31pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I'm arguing against Darryl aren't i ? =(

i guess the joke is on me...

DARRYL *taps screen* your mom wants me to remind you to take your meds.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:32pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
you mean downsizing by the labels BEFORE filesharing was popular enough to have any impact at all?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:38pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
SOPA doesn't take down bittorrent, cyberlocker, or any other site that allows user-generated content, you lying bonehead.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:39pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Yes, yes it does.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:40pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
oh yes, they are.

The market demands music and movies. If you think you're going to easily get them for free forever, you're an idiot.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:41pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Could you at least read the damn thing before arguing for it ?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 5:43pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
No, I mean the layoffs that occurred every year in the 2000s. Gradually getting worse every year as every year revenue declined, and every year piracy got more widespread.

Please keep trying to be willfully ignorant. It's amusing.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 6:08pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Care to comment on why profits soared if revenues fell?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
abc gum, 16 Jan 2012 @ 6:10pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Certainly there is no other possible contributor to this heinous job loss to which you refer. There is one and only one possible explanation for it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
TtfnJohn (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 6:11pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
That's true. You are amusing particularly when you call people names over and over again just to prove you're not a grownup.

An idiot, perhaps, but a grownup, no.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
abc gum, 16 Jan 2012 @ 6:12pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Call the whaaambulance - someone messed their business britches and is pointing their finger of blame.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
abc gum, 16 Jan 2012 @ 6:17pm

Re:
With three you get eggroll
so what
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 6:46pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
No, it doesn't, you lying asshat.

Facebook? Perfectly fine. Any site actually, that isn't completely dedicated to infringement, is fine.

So stop being a slimy liar, mkay?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 6:48pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
First off, sorry for barging in on this thread, but he ran away from my thread.

I hope you are aware that the state department has financed the development of a few excellent tools that if used for this purpouse will completely negate all blocking provisions in SOPA and PIPA ?
Now, to add insult to injury, those are not even the most effective tools for the job.
With stuff out there and widely used TODAY both SOPA and PIPA are completely ineffective.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 6:51pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"bittorrent, cyberlocker, or any other site that allows user-generated content"

And no, Facebook is far from safe.
Per the anti circumvention clause all it takes is users discussing how to get around the blocking on Facebook (Arguably even free speech) and the site is at risk.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jay (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 6:57pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Tens of thousands of record label employees have lost their jobs because their employer's content is being ripped off and thus they can't afford to employ as many people.

Bull. Shit. The entire reason a lot of record labels lost their jobs was because of the RIAA's disastrous campaign to turn everyone into criminals. Oh wait a minute. They're doing that right now.

If they just gave you a raise for talking points, it's time for them to get their money back.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 7:14pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Granted, they wouldn't have the balls to go after a company that could match them lawyer for lawyer and lobbying dollar for lobbying dollar.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
jupiterkansas (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 8:45pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Piracy is not the only reason the music and movie industries are suffering. Ending it will not make things magically turn around.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Kaega (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 9:29pm

And you still have piracy
I really can't say this enough. There is nothing in this bill that will stop piracy.

I hear a bunch of crap about blocking DNS domains to take down "rogue" sites. Loading a site without the use of DNS requests can be done, not to mention many services (like bit torrent) don't use DNS at all.

Connections can be encrypted, proxy servers can be use to redirect your connection, and internet routes can always be rerouted. And even though it can seem complex, I know 10 year olds that can accomplish these things.

When small businesses can't work because licensing fees are too high, and big industry's still won't budge on their ridiculous prices, piracy will thrive.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
The eejit (profile), 17 Jan 2012 @ 1:38am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Not the point. OR have you never heard of this concept called "chilling effects"?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 3:57am

He separately notes how odd it is that in this era of political gridlock, where almost nothing can get done in Congress, so many in Congress jump to push through bad legislation they don't understand -- written by the entertainment industry -- while ignoring the many real problems this country faces...

Written by the entertainment industry, paid for by the entertainment industry. They pull the strings, and the puppets dance. It's not like this is the first time it's happened.
Incidentally, does anyone want to take bets on what acronym they'll use next time they make one of these bills? So far we've had DMCA, COICA, SOPA, and PIPA/PROTECT-IP/E-PARASITE. Personally, I think they'll call the next one the "End Child Molesting Act". Of course it'd probably end up actually making it harder to catch child molesters...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
frosty840, 17 Jan 2012 @ 8:34am

Re: Re:
I was beginning to think I'd imagined people routinely threatening to kill each other fifteen or so years ago.

It seems like people take it as an actual threat, these days. So bizarre.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 9:22am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
See, the intent of IP extremists isn't to 'stop piracy'. It's to stop competition.

Some people are perfectly willing to release their content under a CC license so that others can get it for free. but IP extremists don't want that, they don't want anyone able to consume any content for free. They want people to only have the option of paying them for content.

and this is what the laws have accomplished outside the Internet. Through govt established broadcasting and cableco monopolies and through laws that make it too legally risky and expensive for a restaurant or other venue to host independent performers, it is difficult for independents to get their content distributed without signing their copy protections over to a govt established monopolist gatekeeper. and they want to do to the Internet what they have accomplished outside the Internet. This isn't about piracy.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 9:25am

It's already started.
I need a new search engine. It appears Google has managed to lose an entire model line of HP servers.

You can't tell me that ml350ro4p isn't found in any document anywhere on the Internet. I have a freaking PO with this model number on it.

Screw you MAFIAA people. How much are you going to pay ME for the time wasted trying to find out specs for this server so I can figure out if it's upgradable, and where to get parts for it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 11:35am

Re:
""established legal framework"

It is not clear what established legal framework you are talking about."

Maybe the DMCA?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 11:41am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Total lie.

That's all you have left. Lies.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
demented, 17 Jan 2012 @ 12:08pm

Re:
Yeah, the "End Child Molesting Act" will probably require police to beat and interrogate any person who does NOT regularly interact with children, on the assumption that they MUST be pedophiles.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
nasch (profile), 17 Jan 2012 @ 12:11pm

Re: It's already started.
You can't tell me that ml350ro4p isn't found in any document anywhere on the Internet. I have a freaking PO with this model number on it.

Dogpile (Google + Yahoo + Bing) doesn't find anything on it either, nor does the HP site. Perhaps it's ML350 G4p? That's the closest HP has. I think you jumped the gun on blaming the MAFIAA.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 1:08pm

Re: Re: It's already started.
HAHA! That's where you are wrong......it says plain and simple on the back of the damn server....

(actually it's ML340RO4P....not ML350RO4P....)

either way, finding anything on the HP Proliant ML340 G4 is like living in a fking time warp.....

*are you sure that model server exists?*

Plueeeze.......it's right there in the damn rack.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 4:08pm

Re: Re: Re:
I was in a bad mood yesterday - I would have taken "Have a good day" as a threat! I don't need to be continuously reminded about it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
nasch (profile), 17 Jan 2012 @ 4:41pm

Re: Re: Re: It's already started.
HAHA! That's where you are wrong.

Wrong about what, exactly?

either way, finding anything on the HP Proliant ML340 G4 is like living in a fking time warp.....

Weird. Info on the 350 seems plentiful, but change it to 340, and it's crickets. And as you say ML340RO4P yields nothing.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Montezuma (profile), 17 Jan 2012 @ 7:57pm

I find it funny, very funny in fact, that so many people are screaming and telling about the "death of the internet", and really, the further death of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, yet so many of you have failed to see the death of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. So many of you look past us firearm owners, who have warned so many of you that the death of the Second Amendment would be followed up by the death of the First Amendment, but we were ignored.

The difference is that we firearm owners are here to help you guys fight this travesty. We have been fighting, rather successfully, to force the great majority of states(all but one has weapon carry licensing on the books, though not all are "shall issue", but we are working on it). As firearm owners, we hold that the First Amendment is just as important as the Second Amendment, even if the reverse is not true for many of you. Some people might try to say this isn't a First Amendment issue, but is very much is.

You look at the 1934 National Firearms Act(NFA), the Gun Control Act of 1968(GCA), the Firearm Owners "Protection" Act(FOPA; which is anything but), the now defunct 1994 Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act(aka, Federal Assault Weapons Ban, or AWB, which banned the sale of new weapons labeled "assault weapons", but were not, as they lacked select, or full automatic fire capabilities). Similar laws, which will further dampen our First Amendment rights, are coming. SOPA and PIPA are just the start.
[ link to this | view in thread ]