Former Chief Tech Policy Officer At MPAA Admits That SOPA Was 'Not Compatible With The Health Of The Internet'

from the indeed dept

Tue, Apr 10th 2012 11:08am — Mike Masnick

We mentioned recently that the Chief Tech Policy Officer at the MPAA, Paul Brigner, had jumped ship to the Internet Society -- whose position on SOPA was diametrically opposed to the MPAA's position on SOPA and similar concepts. While there was some concern that ISOC was moving away from its strong internet freedom stance, many of us suspected that perhaps the reason Brigner jumped ship was that his own views were much more in line with ISOC's. Indeed, he's now told News.com that he thinks SOPA isn't just a bad idea, but that it's not good for the health of the internet:

"Did my position on this issue evolve over the last 12 months? I am not ashamed to admit that it certainly did," Brigner writes. "The more I became educated on the realities of these issues, the more I came to the realization that a mandated technical solution just isn't mutually compatible with the health of the Internet."

And how does the MPAA feel about this?

A spokesman for the MPAA said his organization would not comment on Brigner's volte-face.

Well, what can you say when your (now former) chief tech expert agrees with what every other tech expert has been saying all along?

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Filed Under: internet, mpaa, paul brigner, sopa

27 Comments

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Lowestofthekeys (profile), 10 Apr 2012 @ 11:09am

Dollars signs
Brigner's conscience finally overcame the prospect of money.
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- Anonymous Coward, 10 Apr 2012 @ 11:13am
  
  Re: Dollars signs
  Or maybe he's just getting paid more on the other side of the fence.
  
  He's been with the MPAA. He's tainted. DO NOT TRUST HIM.
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  - weneedhelp (profile), 10 Apr 2012 @ 11:49am
    
    Re: Re: Dollars signs
    I ended a contract 6 weeks early because I just could not stand to walk in to Faux news any longer. (Fox29) Was I tainted? Nah, the taste of bile does not sit well day after day, and sometimes ppl's conscience gets the best of them. Mine did.
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  - silverscarcat (profile), 10 Apr 2012 @ 12:11pm
    
    Re: Re: Dollars signs
    I give him tentative trust...
    
    That is, I'll trust him as far as I can throw my house.
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    - hothmonster, 10 Apr 2012 @ 2:58pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Dollars signs
      That would be tenantative trust :b
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  - Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 8:10am
    
    Re: Re: Dollars signs
    Yes, being willing to admit publicly that he was wrong proves it!
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TtfnJohn (profile), 10 Apr 2012 @ 11:35am

I'm quite prepared to let Bringer's statements stand on their own and not just let the immediate past influence how I respond. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. We'll see how he goes from here.

I know a great number of otherwise tech smart and well informed people who haven't the slightest idea of how the Internet works. Largely because they don't encounter the finer points of it in their day to day work. So I'm not surprised that people like Bringer don't/didn't know what mess of things that DNS blocking would bring. I've worked with a few people like that and trying to explain to them that the Internet isn't ethernet is often like trying to herd cats.

So we worked for the MPAA? People have been know to change their minds and change sides in a debate like SOPA/PIPA (round 1) which is what's happened here. Look hard enough at anyone and you'll find some sort of taint on them. It's called life and what humans do well in life is learn.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Apr 2012 @ 11:44am

Obviously he's just a part of google, so his opinion doesn't matter according to the MPAA.
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izzitme101, 10 Apr 2012 @ 11:58am

They don't say anything, they bury their heads an extra 3 inches down to drown it out.
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Lord Binky, 10 Apr 2012 @ 12:01pm

What can they say?
They can say Brigner is wrong and their new guy is right... It still one make it true, but what they were saying before was not any more true either.
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Michael Long (profile), 10 Apr 2012 @ 12:13pm

CISPA Is The New SOPA: Help Kill It
Apparently, legislators and lobbyists are appending SOPA legislation to CISPA, a bill that most Americans will assume is about keeping them safe from bad guys.

To quote, "The broad language around what constitutes a cybersecurity threat leaves the door wide open for abuse. For example, the bill defines �cyber threat intelligence� and �cybersecurity purpose� to include �theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information.�"

Private information and intellectual property.

We need to stop it, and also stop the back door approach to passing legislation...

http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/cispa/
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/03/r ogers-cybersecurity-bill-broad-enough-use-against-wikileaks-and-pirate-bay
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- Anonymous Coward, 10 Apr 2012 @ 12:31pm
  
  Re: CISPA Is The New SOPA: Help Kill It
  Read the whole bill FUDboy, then provide the analysis. What is wrong with protecting US companies from being hacked by the Chinese who are seeking a trade advantage by stealing their trade secrets? And what does that have to do with you not getting free downloads of Big Bang Theory.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - jupiterkansas (profile), 10 Apr 2012 @ 1:12pm
    
    Re: Re: CISPA Is The New SOPA: Help Kill It
    It's not what the bill is trying to do, it's how it's trying to do it.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 10 Apr 2012 @ 1:52pm
    
    Re: Re: CISPA Is The New SOPA: Help Kill It
    No law is going to protect anyone from chinese hackers. Duh.
    
    Companies can't share info about attacks? According to what?
    
    I fail to seethe problem cispa is supposedly addressing.
    
    Maybe you bought into the FUD the lawmakers so conveniently crafted for you.
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  - rubberpants, 10 Apr 2012 @ 2:45pm
    
    Re: Re: CISPA Is The New SOPA: Help Kill It
    That you think that
    
    1. Companies are being hacked by the Chinese and their secrets stolen
    2. CISPA would stop that if it were happening, and
    3. it would be worth the unintended consequences of these provisions
    
    is astonishing to me.
    
    The only conclusion I can come to is that you are paid to hold these opinions.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 10 Apr 2012 @ 3:01pm
    
    Re: Re: CISPA Is The New SOPA: Help Kill It
    No one cares about bills regarding the internet and the governments ability to spy on traffic except people stealing shitty tv shows. If you care about laws you are a pirate.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 11 Apr 2012 @ 8:13am
    
    Re: Re: CISPA Is The New SOPA: Help Kill It
    "hacked by the Chinese who are seeking a trade advantage by stealing their trade secrets"
    
    Fear - check
    Unreset - check
    Distrust - check
    
    True FUDboy detected!
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    - nasch (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 5:15pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: CISPA Is The New SOPA: Help Kill It
      FUD is actually fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Though since uncertainty and doubt are more or less synonymous, maybe distrust would be better.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Apr 2012 @ 1:11pm

It's good that they admit it AFTER they already tried to push it hard through Congress, and it could only be stopped through a massive protest. Why didn't they try to evaluate that before any of that was necessary?
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- Anonymous Coward, 10 Apr 2012 @ 2:16pm
  
  Re:
  They didn't admit anything.
  
  The only guy admitting anything was the guy that is no the former Chief Tech Policy Officer for the MPAA.
  
  Clearly he's now former because he forgot everything about his job, especially the part about SOPA being a measured and logical step to weeding out all the awful terrorists and kiddie porn-fiends.
  
  Can't blame them for replacing such an obviously incompetent employee...
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- PaulT (profile), 11 Apr 2012 @ 1:25am
  
  Re:
  "they admit it AFTER they already tried to push it hard through Congress"
  
  "They" didn't admit anything. One guy did, and only then after he jumped ship and was able to voice a dissenting opinion.
  
  "Why didn't they try to evaluate that before any of that was necessary?"
  
  Either they've bought into their own delusions and didn't take on board any opposing opinion in their evaluation (likely, given the secret negotiations aspect), or they're fully aware and don't care as long as they think they'll get to ride the gravy train for a few more years.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Apr 2012 @ 3:04pm

A spokesman for the MPAA said his organization would not comment on Brigner's volte-face.

Would not comment on Brigner's what?
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- Anonymous Coward, 10 Apr 2012 @ 3:22pm
  
  Re:
  'About face.'
  
  His complete reversal.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Apr 2012 @ 3:41pm

Ah. For some reason my browser (Firefox 11) rendered the text as "volte" instead of "about". I've never seen it do that before and have no idea why it would (some weird code page issue I guess).
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- Anonymous Coward, 10 Apr 2012 @ 4:42pm
  
  Re:
  notsureifsrs
  
  About-face is a literally change in physical direction, and is basically used metaphorically.
  
  Volte-face is what most people actually mean when they say about-face: a reversal in belief or policy.
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- nasch (profile), 10 Apr 2012 @ 6:11pm
  
  Re:
  Ah. For some reason my browser (Firefox 11) rendered the text as "volte" instead of "about".
  
  Here's one solution for that problem.
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Paul Keating, 11 Apr 2012 @ 10:32am

Nerds can't speak to Congress
"Well, what can you say when your (now former) chief tech expert agrees with what every other tech expert has been saying all along?"

Easy-peazy: "We don't need to hear from the nerds....."
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