Norway To Get Its Own SOPA

from the try-try-again dept

Fri, Jan 18th 2013 3:15am — Mike Masnick

The latest in the global merry-go-round of the legacy entertainment industry seeking to put in place draconian legislation is apparently Norway. A couple years ago, I went to Norway for Nordic Music Week, and had a great time talking to musicians, managers and labels, about all of the opportunity for new music business models. It was a fun and optimistic event, seeing everyone looking at all of the opportunities out there. But, of course, these were mostly independent artists. The major labels stayed away. And that's because the only "opportunity" they seem to see is in drafting the latest version of draconian laws that will do little to stop infringement, but which will have tremendous unintended consequences, including the potential to stifle widespread legitimate forms of expression.

TorrentFreak reports on the latest anti-piracy bill being put forth in Norway, which includes site-blocking provisions:

In May 2011 the Ministry of Culture announced that it had put forward proposals for amendments to the Copyright Act which would “..give licensees the tools they need to follow-up on copyright infringement on the Internet, while protecting privacy.”

The key proposals included making it easier for rightsholders to identify infringers from their IP addresses and amendments to the law to allow ISP-level blocking of sites deemed to be infringing copyright.

The article quotes people who are quite worried about what this will mean in practice. When every copyright holder can seek to completely shut down a site, the likelihood of trouble is immense. Already, here in the US, we see regular abuse of the DMCA to take down specific content that people deem infringing, but which is often just content they don't like. Imagine the ability to do that on a larger scale, such that it doesn't just take down the content, but entire sites.

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Filed Under: blocking, copyright, filters, isp, norway, sopa

28 Comments

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Ninja (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 2:50am

Shall we start a global campaign to help Norwegians tackle it down?
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Zakida Paul (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 3:30am

Re:
That's what it's going to take to kill off this crap once and for all. Localised campaigns are no longer sufficient, we need a coordinated global campaign to show those in power that we will not stand for this any more.
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Capt ICE Enforcer, 18 Jan 2013 @ 3:59am

Post
I wanted to post something witty but I am not awake yet. So my bad. I am committed to hit submit!
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 4:10am

IP is the new nazism.
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Jikap (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 4:26am

Yikes!
As a Norwegian, why am I learning about this for the first time on techdirt now!? :s

*panic mode on*
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Ninja (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 4:28am

Re: Yikes!
Because if awareness is raised then people will certainly organize themselves and stand up against it. That's how the MAFIAA works. You should help by spreading this as much as possible.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 4:40am

Re:
The content Reich should publish a daily journal of their exploits, they could call it the .... IP Daily
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relghuar, 18 Jan 2013 @ 4:43am

All hail TOR and anonymous proxies around the world, the new best friends of a Norwegian internet user!
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 4:43am

Re: Yikes!
Must be one of those secret laws where they can not tell you what it says. No worry, just remember though - ignorance of the law is no excuse.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 4:50am

"every copyright holder can seek to completely shut down a site, the likelihood of trouble is immense"

In Norway, is one immediately given copyright upon all their creations? If not, I still doubt that every copyright holder will be allowed to wield this ban hammer. Only members of the good old boy club will be allowed to randomly shutdown that which they do not like.
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KJ (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 5:02am

Re:
Yes please!
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KJ (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 5:09am

Re:
We have automatic copyright on everything we create, but I still think only members of the "good old boy club" will be eligible.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 5:28am

yet again, the most important thing is the making of music and movies. the ordinary people count for nothing! sooner or later the entertainment industries are going to push too far, too hard. Norway is becoming a mirror of Sweden, where a police state is close to existing. just like the rebelling that took place over the PIPA/SOPA/ACTA bills, there will be severe consequences, hopefully the people will voice their disgust at this. the industries have seen what can happen but have learned nothing. perhaps with the anniversary of the defeat of the above bills, now would be a good time? if not, the industries are just going to continue their censorship of the internet, via further draconian laws that benefit no one but them and usually in the US, not locally, and their suing of customers. action needs to be taken before it really is too late!
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gorehound (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 5:41am

Re:
We do need a Global Campaign that is for sure !!!
Maybe in the meanwhile those Norwegian Death Metal Guys can go a Viking on Norway MAFIAA Reps.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 5:47am

Mike Masnick just hates it when copyright law is enforced.
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Ninja (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 5:57am

Re: Re:
Can I get a helmet and help going Viking?
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PaulT (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 6:09am

Re:
Mike Masnick just hates it when copyright law is "enforced" with unworkable laws that don't actually do anything to solve the problems of piracy, but results in massive unintended negative consequences against law abiding citizens.

/fixed for the functionally retarded who can't deal with the real opinions expressed here
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DannyB (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 6:10am

Re:
Dear Mr. Troll. Give it a rest already.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 6:10am

Re:
Actually, I suspect he just hates it when it is *abused*. As should we all.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 6:21am

Re: Re:
Actually their title should be Amanda Hugginkiss.
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art guerrilla (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 6:30am

Re: Re:z paul, you know better...
unless/until we actually have gummints which serve The People (as in meat machines), and NOT legal fictions called korporations, that will NEVER happen...

this aphorism only showcases how far the citizenry has fallen:
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

Power will ALWAYS seek to divide and conquer us li'l peeps; unless/until we arrogate power back to the people, we will have little/no control over 'our' (sic) own gummint and the priorities and policies it pursues to OUR detriment...

art guerrilla
aka ann archy
eof
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 7:42am

Re:
You probably won't see the same outcry on this like with SOPA. This is becuase Norway does not have anuthing in that law to make sites outside of Norway subject to prosecution under Norweigian laws.

The problem with SOPA is that the law would have made foreign webmasters subject to prosecution in the United States.

That is why Australia's attempts at anti-porn laws have not garnered the kind of outcry like with the CDA. Australia's various filter bill they have tried to pass over the years does not make foreign webmasters and network admins subject to prosecution under that law. Even those who attempted such legislation in the 1999 bill said that making foreign sysops subject to prosecution in Australia was not thier aim.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 7:48am

Re:
y'know, none of this would be an issue if deadbeats like you simply paid for content or did without. Entitled much?
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 8:06am

Re: Re:
Heh. That's funny. You should be a comedian.

I go without content that I can't afford. And yet, apparently, I'm still a God-forsaken criminal in the eyes of these racketeers, extortionists and charlatans.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the entitled one here.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2013 @ 8:06am

Re:
I just hate it when anonymous morons like me just spout bullshit. It gives me a bad name.
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PaulT (profile), 18 Jan 2013 @ 8:18am

Re: Re:
Do you have proof that he doesn't? of course not. This is just another of those baseless personal attacks you guys revert to when faced with reality - you know, the reality that includes paying customer not being happy with their rights being stripped because morons like you presume they're thieves?
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jan 2013 @ 7:15am

Re: Re:
Ummm, SOPA didn't make "foreign web masters subject to prosecution in the United States" either. Did you ever read the bill?

It allowed, after obtaining a judicial order; to have payment processors and ad networks sever their business relationships. An early version allowed for DNS blocking, but was dropped from the final bill. Today, ad networks and payment processors have voluntarily adopted those standards (with no judicial review) and Google et al has agreed to "disappear" infringing sites by burying them pages below where they'd otherwise belong. And of course there's "six strikes".
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Jan 2013 @ 2:08pm

Re: Re: Re:
Well, it all sounds like a jolly good time then.
Cheerio
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