Why Netflix Never Implemented The Algorithm That Won The Netflix $1 Million Challenge

Russia Takes SOPA-Like Approach In Encouraging ISPs To Spy On Their Users

from the in-russia,-isp-spy-on-you! dept

Thu, Apr 12th 2012 8:01pm — Glyn Moody

Something that's proving popular with politicians running out of ideas for tackling unauthorized sharing of copyright materials online is to make ISPs and Web sites responsible for the actions of their users -- even though nobody would think of doing the same for telephone companies. SOPA was one of the best-known examples of this approach, and now it looks like Russia wants to join the club:

The cyber crime department of Russia’s Interior Ministry says it intends to get tough on the country’s ISPs when their customers share copyrighted or otherwise illegal material. Authorities say they are currently carrying out nationwide checks on ISPs' local networks and could bring prosecutions as early as next month.

The proposed legislation is a little unusual in that it seems to concern the exchange of unauthorized copies of copyright material across ISPs' local networks: These networks, present within the ISPs’ own infrastructure, provide users’ access to a wealth of legal content and services such as Internet Relay Chat, but inevitably unauthorized content is available too.
As would have happened with SOPA, the inevitable consequence of passing this kind of law will be round-the-clock surveillance of Internet users by their ISPs -- not because the law requires it, but because the ISPs would be crazy not to given the financial risks they would run otherwise. The other knock-on effect, of course, is that people will just start swapping 2Tbyte portable hard discs full of unauthorized material by hand, bypassing the networks completely.

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Filed Under: liability, russia, sopa, surveillance

26 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2012 @ 8:26pm

This is born of Russia's joining the WTO this summer. They're shit on even the most base level of IP protection and I guess see this as the fastest way to clean it up. WTO membership requires a pretty high degree of IP protection. They're interests lie in making the current import and export tariffs disappear and have no tradition of of "free speech". Wouldn't be surprised to see the gulags filling up with infringers real soon.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2012 @ 8:28pm

*Their interests* Sorry.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2012 @ 8:29pm

Fuck it, let's just destroy the internet and be done with it all. Economies will probably collapse entirely, but at least those dirty pirates will have nowhere to go! Oh, wait...
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2012 @ 8:30pm

*Their interests* Sorry.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2012 @ 8:56pm

I do not recall ISPs being included as a part of SOPA, nor do I recall any entity actually covered by SOPA having a mandate to monitor. If I am wrong, then mea culpa.

Otherwise, citation to the pertinent section of the legislation would be appreciated.
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Drew (profile), 12 Apr 2012 @ 9:09pm

In mother Russia file copyrights you.

How many RIAA scum does it take to change a light bulb?

301

1 to make up absurd loss charts.
1 to spend millions on pointless tactics to prevent future burnouts.
1 to suck someone in power off to get anti terrorist squad support.
1 to hire outside companies to flood the market with fake light bulbs.
1 to shut down all alternative bulb manufactures.
1 to be their public speaker to spread news about how bad burnouts are and how every single one cost them a good 60 million per pop.
1 to sacrifice a baby to Satan.
93 to sue for the burnout in the first place.
200 to push all the naysayers off a cliff.
1 to sue me for making a 300 joke without authorization.

THIS IS DA FUCKTA?!??
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2012 @ 9:39pm

Re:
A 300 joke? Aren't you making a special 301 joke?
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anon, 12 Apr 2012 @ 9:40pm

It's well known that Russia goes hard to protect their OWN intellectual properties.
Since 2010, Putin says they were goin to strengthen their effort to combat the Russian IP theft. If i remember right he even talk about a 3 strike law.

But when it comes to share foreigners materials, they just dont give a fuck. They actually get a lot of money with it, just like China is doing.
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Pixelation, 12 Apr 2012 @ 10:16pm

Where's Neil?
It seems like it's time for Niel Young to write a song about all of this SOPA, etc, crap.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Apr 2012 @ 12:14am

Come on They only said they're going to check ISP's local networks. Nobody ever said anything about filtering, blocking (local or nation-wide), or anything that remotely resembles SOPA. ISPs will have to get rid of their local FTP servers (which ARE full of pirated material, trust me - it's a way to attract customers), yes, but nobody forces them to watch their users' actions outside the local network. At least for now...
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Apr 2012 @ 12:16am

Re: Re:
It's sarcasm I'm well aware that I said 301. I was saying even if it looks close they will come after you these days. Like all the bs they say about just linking and so on lol.
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abc gum, 13 Apr 2012 @ 4:30am

copyright infringement is simply the excuse.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Apr 2012 @ 5:24am

The other knock-on effect, of course, is that people will just start swapping 2Tbyte portable hard discs full of unauthorized material by hand, bypassing the networks completely.

"Start"? "Start"?! Heh.

We're also developing better file sharing, better encryption, and better untrackable methods -- all of which will piss the MAFIAA and its shills and fanboys off no doubt, but that's a good thing: what's bad for the movie studios and the recording industry is good for the planet.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Apr 2012 @ 5:39am

"Something that's proving popular with politicians running out of ideas for tackling unauthorized sharing of copyright materials online is to make ISPs and Web sites responsible for the actions of their users -- even though nobody would think of doing the same for telephone companies."

Actually that's a great idea. Lets start holding politicians responsible for crimes their constituents are committing in their districts! And I don't just mean blame them for crime going up under their watch, I mean lets punish them and financially and even criminally for all the law breaking they're allowing in their district, see how they like that kind of liability for someone else's actions that you have no control over.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Apr 2012 @ 6:30am

Re:
Why are you trying to ruin the Techdirt narrative by asking for factual accuracy? You must be a TROLL!!!
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weneedhelp (profile), 13 Apr 2012 @ 7:25am

What?
They just want to be like the NSA.

How sad that the former Soviet Union aspires to spy like the USA.

What country do I live in again?
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John Fenderson (profile), 13 Apr 2012 @ 9:12am

Re:
nor do I recall any entity actually covered by SOPA having a mandate to monitor

There was technically no mandate to monitor, but if you did then you got legal protections. This has the effect of a mandate while allowing politicians to say "look, no mandate!"
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Apr 2012 @ 11:21am

This is odd. Masnick's friends at Russia Today seem to have missed this story. Perhaps they're too busy reporting on the evils of CISPA.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Apr 2012 @ 2:13pm

What? The Russians are spying on their own people... AND SOMEONE THINKS ITS NEWS?????
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Apr 2012 @ 2:13pm

What? The Russians are spying on their own people... AND SOMEONE THINKS ITS NEWS?????
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Prokofy Neva (profile), 16 Apr 2012 @ 9:33pm

Oh, come now
Oh, come now. The Russian government already filters, sock-puppets, and spies on its own people with SORM, etc. it doesn't need anything special.

And SOPA specifically said within the text of the law that it did not mandate massive pre-filtering by ISPs. That's just hysteria on your part and you know it.

There's no moral or legal equivalence whatsoever and you're just trying to gin one up.

Russia is hardly likely to crack down on piracy, they get too much out of it.
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Prokofy Neva (profile), 16 Apr 2012 @ 9:34pm

Re:
You're right. The text of the law in fact says the opposite. Glyn is just panic-mongering.
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Kennth, 26 Apr 2012 @ 5:33am

Really it's *Their interests* .
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arj, 27 Apr 2012 @ 1:32am

Spies and spy gadgets are everywhere
Truth is everywhere you go, you find or hear about hidden
cameras that are cleverly hidden ( See http://spygadgets.blogspot.com/2011/04/hidden-cameras.html). Privacy is dead today!
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Howie Perks, 29 Apr 2013 @ 7:54am

Those Russions are so crafty..
Thanks for the great article. The Russians really use some crafty stuff to gain pure leverage on the internet.
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Aled Stern, 22 May 2013 @ 6:03am

Great post
Sadly it's the way the internet is going... Its effectively the same in the US since PATRIOT ACT
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