More And More People Sign On To The Declaration Of Internet Freedom
from the good-news dept
Earlier this month, we took part in the launch of The Declaration of Internet Freedom, which got a fair bit of attention, nearly all of it positive. There were a few critics, but it appears that an awful lot of people and organizations find themselves in agreement with these basic principles and are willing to sign on. Already over 1,500 organizations and 50,000 individuals have signed on, including at least two members of Congress (Ron Wyden in the Senate and Darrell Issa in the House).There's also been a ton of ongoing discussion, including our own efforts over at Step2. These conversations continue to move forward, with various events being planned around the globe over the next few months to get more people talking about these principles and thinking about what they mean to them and why they're important. Either way, it seems this project is off to a nice start.
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Filed Under: declaration, internet freedom
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Lets say in a hypothetical world that the internet becomes recognized as its own entity, and in a sense a 'country' and/or 'government' that is recognized mostly world wide.
My first thought, being an American and influenced by US government, was would there be an Internet President? Or could there be an internet representatives? or even internet ambassadors that go to real world events and governments to help ease tensions between the internet and existing governments?
Would we have an internet ambassador in each state or country?
Obviously a traditional system wouldn't work. The internet is about fluidity so for starters, there would be no 'set terms' or anything. But we also would need some more well spoken and educated people to handle certain affairs if the Internet was an entity onto itself in which every person in the world is a dual citizen of the internet.
There are a near endless amount of possibilities and what-ifs on how things could be handled. The one thing for certain though, if a system is put into place of some kind. It needs to be made to reflect the internet, and not have the internet mold to a system, because that would sort of defeat the whole point.
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I also think that all these ideas to keep tabs on the people is perfect, albeit pointed in the wrong direction, i think the internet now provides the means and technology for every individual to be part of any given subject that our governments are a part of, do you see any governments sugesting giving US the ability to make sure were not being screwed, not bloody likely........until then, my privacy is my own, heaven help the PEOPLE whos government continues to ignores the shitstorm they are creating, because it is us who will suffer, for their greed and their stupidity..........for those who may have lost their way, please remember who you work for, before it is too late, for all our sakes, nothing good will come of this, i pray we realize this before it is too late.
Sorry for that terrible, totally unintentional speech at the end, it kinda snuck up on me that one.
Why leave it then, you say? *shrugs* .....why not
For our true and unequivocal freedom
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The problem I see is that we will have successive generations (starting with arguably Generation X and their children and now grandchildren!) who don't see the internet as a separate world. But an integral part of the existing facets of modern life. It's as ubiquitous as coming home, plopping down on a couch and turning on the TV. For most people it's just "there." Well, for those people that still watch TV and haven't turned completely to the offerings of the digital space.
The global network that connects everyone who has access has become so integrated in modern society that it's fast becoming a part of culture and everyday life. Not so different than chatting up another passenger on the bus and showing off the baby pictures that you uploaded to imgur or photobook - whether or not the other passenger wishes to see your kid and would rather just listen to the playlist streaming from their iPhone.
And I think this is the core of where the resistance to online regulation falls. To continue the metaphor, it's like the city suddenly hiring bus monitors and making sure that everyone keeps perfectly still with their devices turned off. All the while installed video screens show a stream of advertisements and official political messages. The only recourse for "Rule Breakers" is to kick them off of the bus! For many people, there are no other alternatives as to how they go from point A to point B apart from walking. So they either comply with the absurdity or they resist and protest. Call up the city council and say, "Hey! I want to listen to my MP3 player or read my e-book. Not watch this regurgitation of candidates all spouting the same crap message!"
So how would it be possible to regulate the digital space? I realize here that the bus ride metaphor fails since public transportation is itself regulated to a degree and passengers are already restricted. Don't bring food or drink, don't step over the yellow line, (a safety issue) and a host of common courtesy rules that follow in the meatspace. Plus regulations on the bus service itself such as easy access for disabled people and equal access for all patrons regardless.
I think the question we should be asking is, WHO do we regulate for the digital part of our lives? The users or the providers? Try to regulate the users and you find yourself herding cats. You end up caging a bunch of them and all they can think to do is look for a way out for some other alternative.
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Thinking that you can start Utopia on top of the current system is bath salts smoking material.
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http://i.imgur.com/dh0kw.jpg
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After reading that Craigslist was suing someone that made their service more useful, I do believe we desperately need those guidelines ASAP, pronto, yesterday.
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First: Data is not copyrightable or protectable under American law.
Second: They displayed the data in an useful format to others, that alone is doing something.
Third: Graiglist makes most of its money from people who pay them to place advertisements, they make next to nothing on advertisement themselves, which begs the question, why stop something that makes your adverts more visible and can make more people pay to place and advertisement there?
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h**p://torrentfreak.com/leaked-report-reveals-music-industrys-global-anti-piracy-strategy-1 20725/
i foresee nothing other than more of the same!
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They ask for unrestricted power to censor anything they don't like and can't seem to understand why so many people do not go along with it.
Or they do know that and made a conscious effort not to write down anything that would really put what they want into perspective.
Power to decide what happens to what apps or not, power to decide who can be on the internet or not, power to decide who can say, show, listen or do anything.
With a great example of how that will be abused on the FCC's open-set-top-box failed initiative.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/07/how-big-cable-killed-the-open-set-top-box-an d-what-to-do-about-it/
Even the FCC is now talking DMCA reform. That is of course the FCC wants to allow others to crack protections so people can deliver equipment to the market without having to go through a certification process that is totally controlled by cable companies that have zero interest in licensing others to do something.
That should be a big giant fraking red flag right there, we all know what happens if the MAFIAAtards get what they want, we are all screwed.
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Great
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Darrell Issa
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BS petition
I run the united hackers association for the past 18 years.
Let me know when it allows me as the organizations chairperson to sign up...till then have a nice uncensored free day.
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Every single one of you has had the power to protect internet freedom, but instead, you'd rather see The Dark Knight Rises, which funnels money to those who push bills to take away internet freedom.
You can't have your cake and eat it too.
To protect, you must sacrifice.
How far are you willing to go to stop buying music, books, and movies? Will you let go of that iToy in order to make a stand against patents, which allows trolls to sue internet companies?
Remove the sources to the problems and everything else falls into place.
Psst... one of those problems is Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution. Good luck fixing it!
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The only books I buy are light novels and graphic novels that are imported from Japan.
I don't buy or DL much music either.
I don't have an iToy.
I've been doing my part for years now.
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Eitherway, same boat, id rather go without out then to line the pockets of those who continually spit on our rights, might not happen soon, but they'll eventually feel the results when people on mass, wise up to the facts
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In an ideal world, one would be able to download from anywhere and creators would have a donate function so people could give them the required money bypassing the gate keepers.
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Apologist thinking, frankly.
Again, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Yes, it sucks some good content creators are locked into using models which abuse these laws, but they're not making a stand, either.
It's even more troubling when their desire to make money prevents them from doing right, and that's telling their distributors "Shape up or you get nothing from me."
Oh, right. Contracts and all that.
Even still, the fact these labels and distributors keep making them shows people just don't care when there's a check waving in front of them.
It's going to suck to lose the internet, but it's inevitable. Corporations will ensure they get control, one way or another.
All because people make excuses to see the latest airing of a show they "can't live without" while funding the loss of the internet.
I can't reason with this type of thinking.
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Look at the Declaration. Closely.
The fact we have to even draft it is the problem. I'm not opposed to the models. I'm opposed to the abuse those models continually, over decades, continue to push, as with anyone else.
What do we call situations to which no compromise is given? Dictatorship? Censorship? There are many.
To make matters worse:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2012/07/stewart-colbert-re-up-at- comedy-central-/1#.UBAe4qDuinY
This isn't a compromise, now is it. These two make millions for CC, and it's parent, Viacom.
Given the choices of "what can work and what won't", guess where my option rests.
Again, I can't reason with this.
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The only true cure for this is to end the human race. And that's not possible, much less preferable. Or maybe you want to impose a dictatorship? To have the ability to unilaterally make every "fair" and make everyone follow "fair" rules (in your judgement) is inherently unfair and will only end in more revolution and bloodshed.
If you won't compromise and you can't create some totalitarian yet paradoxically just society, you're going to have to be pretty clever to come up with a new solution that no one has thought of.
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Every single one of you has had the power to protect internet freedom, but instead, you'd rather see The Dark Knight Rises, which funnels money to those who push bills to take away internet freedom."
You don't get it, do you?
People want what Hollywood is cooking, plain and simple. They aren't willing to sign off and stop consuming it, they even go to great lengths having better computers, faster connections, higher internet bills, larger hard drives, just to download it so they can tell their friends they saw it. It's what the cool kids do.
For all the arm waving, for all the jumping up and down, for all the "new business models" and "successful artists" out there, we are just not seeing anything that comes even marginally close to touching Hollywood for being the most desirable product.
Psst... one of those problems is at the end, "culture" is in fact what Hollywood makes. Turn off the switch, and you lose "culture". Hollywood is both the mirror of your life and the blazing light in the distance to aspire to.
Good luck getting around reality.
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Congrats, welcome to the relatively silent majority.
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Let's get rid of the horrible piratssess... you all agree with me, don't you?
Mmm... Hollywood shapes reality, yesss...
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I'd disagree, culture is created by society, Hollywood provides an input to this but what is accepted and embraced is a subset of that.
Frequently Hollywood's content is just a re-working of the current culture (see super-hero movies and re-makes ad nauseam).
You're right on one point though, people do want what hollywood is creating, but they don't want the baggage and bullshit that goes with it. Make a good movie and people are happy to pay to go see it or buy the DVD or rent it from their service of choice.
What people are becoming increasingly intolerant of is the unnecessary restrictions that get in the way of them consuming the content. DRM, windowed releases and stupid anti-piracy adverts being some that spring immediately to mind.
Now all these things are being provided by alternative sources, maybe embracing what technology offers will help Hollywood handle the current reality.
At the moment copyright is a niche issue, but it's becoming increasingly mainstream, companies that treat their customers well will have an advantage as this trend continues.
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All true.
Also true: People want to consume that content in easy and convenient ways for a reasonable price.
For all the arm waving, for all the jumping up and down, for all the "new business models" and "successful artists" out there, we are just not seeing anything that comes even marginally close to touching Hollywood for being the most desirable product.
For all the whining about piracy, for all the bought politicians and pushed legislation, we are not seeing anything from Hollywood that resembles acknowledging that markets change and giving people what they want is a good business.
Good luck getting around reality.
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Yes, and they will do the most inconvenient things to do it, which suggests it is driven much more by price than anything else.
Searching P2P sites, downloading files that may or may not work, may or may not have the content, and may or may not play to the end - and that take time to download in many cases - isn't exactly convenient. It's avoidance of payment at play here for the most part.
As long as mob rules is the game, people will do it. Unmasked, people generally stop pirating.
But all of your post is just showing how you don't want to look at reality, you only want to look at the pro-piracy side of things. Good luck. Do you own a parrot?
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And then there's people who don't really have to money to be spending on content so the only way to get it is to go to where it's free.
Also I'd like to know when bringing up ways to get people to buy products willingly became "pro piracy"
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Geeze, was the last time you looked at filesharing back in the Kazaa/Grokster days? It is much easier, faster, and more convenient than it used to be. You almost never run into any of those issues if you have even the slightest idea of what you're doing (and if you don't, its quite easy to learn quickly).
I can start a torrent download faster than I can get a DVD off the shelf and put it in my player.
I'm ignoring reality?
PAY ATTENTION:
Give me a service that I can do the same thing on, without restrictions as to what device I can play it on, or what times I can watch it, without waiting, for a reasonable price, and I will pay money for it.
If you still think this is about not paying, then you are ignoring reality.
And if you want to talk about parrots, perhaps you should look in the mirror, since all you're doing is parroting certain trade organization's talking points.
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You can't have your cake and eat it too.
When a content creator, even if it is a major studio or label, creates quality content and offers it for a reasonable price, in a convenient and desireable manner, then why shouldn't we support them? We should encourage that! And we should tell them why we're buying.
Yes, I went to see The Dark Knight. Why? It was a social experience to go see it with friends at the midnight opening showing. Social experience is something which cannot be pirated, and I'm willing to pay for it.
Will I buy the DVD or a digital download? Unlikely - but I may decide to pirate it - most likely because of price or silly restrictions. And I'll say why I didn't buy it.
Remove the sources to the problems and everything else falls into place.
As much as I would love to see the complete collapse of the legacy industries, it is highly improbable. Since I think we'd agree that they pay attention to money - we show them how they can get our money by paying for the options that work for us, and not buying those that don't. They will follow the money - or go out of business.
At the same time, we fight against the laws they try to push by telling our elected officials that they're supposed to work for us, not Hollywood, and we can vote them out.
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Be the big man, admit it and move on.
Oh, how much RtB crap have you sold recently?
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You mean like how Lamar Smith, Cary Sherman and Chris Dodd have whined about SOPA's failure?
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Oh, kind of like your comments in every single article going on and on about Pirate Mike's whining?
Do you realize how ironic it is that you say Mike whines constantly, when that is all you do yourself about Mike?
If you don't, you should realize it already. And... I don't know... MAYBE STOP WHINING ABOUT MIKE and actually say something as it pertains to the article at hand.
Oh, that and you know, you and your side are the biggest whiners in the world. "but but but piracy" "how can we compete with blah blah blah" "technology needs to stop advancing because it is putting us out to pasture" "we need more laws because blah blah blah" You know all that is a form of whining, right?
Poor, sad, troll AC. Has no point to make so he says others are whining. Quite pathetic.
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You on the other hand do nothing but whine.
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Looking at mike's past posts he's the one who refutes and it's his opponents who run away or resort to namecalling.
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I think if you post that list, Mike should be a dick and post one too. One consisting of a link to every single one of your comments. As far back as he can find. Of course, you'll still be the same "Anonymous Coward" with no info revealed about you, beyond putting your comments together, but hey. Them's the breaks. You want a real debate, pick a name and stick to it. Don't even have to register. Like that we can see which comments are yours. Otherwise, you're acting like the real coward who can't be held accountable for his own words. "It wasn't me who said that, must've been some other AC." Real classy move there, chief.
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OMG HOW DARE YOU VIOLATE THE PRIVACY OF COMMENTS I KNOWINGLY MADE PUBLIC!
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All his post are the same, slight variants of course at times. But he pretty much gives himself up within seconds. It's like, "Oh, it's the why won't you debate me guy. I can ignore him."
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ninny
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For the troll AC to think his intelligence is beyond reproach he'd have to have some to begin with.
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Two possibilities:
You're lying, making vague threats which are not very threatening.
Or, you actually are demonstrating obsessive/compulsive tendencies, because what you describe is not normal behaviour.
I'd drop this lame line of attack because I'd be embarrassed to admit to either option.
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he is right.
Mike is a very busy man, all the quiet political work and such that he doesn't like to talk about. Mike often comes into a discussion after being asked pointedly about something, drop an insult bomb, and leaves without answering the point at all. Oh, then he never, ever comes back.
The only time Mike comes back is when he is trying to drive out someone he has spotted a "shill" or shit disturber, and then he will go full on insult mode, calling the poster out, claiming they are uneducated, acting childish, or some combination of both. All through that, he rarely if ever actually addresses the points head on, but deflects and sinks quickly into the insults.
For a guy who pushed interaction with fans and back and forth debating, he certainly doesn't do it much. In this regard, he is much more Steve Jobs, fast to call you out as an asshole.
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Every time I see Mike respond it's always by refuting other's points with facts and logic. If he calls someone out as a shill there'a always a pattern of shill-like behavior.
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Bullshit. Prove it.
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Are you part of some sort of totalitarian regime?
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FREEDOM
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