Thank you Ron Wyden. Had it not been for your efforts here, SOPA/PIPA could've been law by now, or at least, there wouldn't have been any time to build up such a huge groundswell of opposition to them.
It's clear that you've had the sound of money being flapped in your ear by the **AA's and other vested interests over this since before the laws were even called SOPA and PIPA. But yet, you refused to listen to just those with the money, you did your own research and listened to your constituents on the matter, you said "NO" to those who push these laws, and probably denying yourself a fortune and/or a cushy job further down he track in the process. That is a mark of an outstanding politician. Keep up the good fight, don't let us down now.
"Holding the internet hostage will not win you any friends in Congress"
It to attempt to show those who aren't quite-so-net-savvy what the future WILL hold under these bills. A 12-24 hour long taster, if you will.
And if that statement was true, why do the bills have any support at all in Congress? They'll will effectively leave the internet at the mercy of the RIAA/MPAA, their archaic business models and anyone else whom has the capacity to take the time required to put up a real or false copyright claim against a website or business.
I agree. If sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google and others that receive high amounts of traffic were to go down for 24 hours it would get PIPA/SOPA stacks of extra attention. Especially Facebook and Youtube, who could be considered rogue sites under the laws and shut down.
RE: It's time for the **AA's to go back to the drawing board
Actually, a better idea: Make copyright last for either 70 years or the copyright holders death (the producers in the case of movies, TV shows and videogames and the artists themselves in cases of art and music), whichever one comes first, and ban the encryption of DVDs unless the codes are left with the government so that they can be unencrypted when the copyright duration is up.
It's time the government took a brand new approach to this. Instead of introducing ever-increasingly broad, sweeping, draconian and most of all, EXPENSIVE copyright laws, it's getting to the point where A. government must acknowledge that the internet is here to stay, for good or bad.
and B. Copyright laws are currently well and truly beyond what any person would deem reasonable (if they do not have a vested interest in ensuring they stay that way).
What the government would be better off doing is:
1.Set copyright laws to:
- Only allow copyright to last for 50 years after the work's release and no longer.
- Extend what is allowed under fair use to include pretty much anything other than displaying or selling the work for profit WITHOUT permission from, acknowledgement of and if requested, paying royalties to, the original copyright holder.
2. Tell the **AA's the government is not going to cover their asses anymore, and they either have to embrace and adapt their business models to new technology of any shape or form, or go into bankruptcy. That, after all, is the way of the free market.
If the **AA's continue to push the sort of crap that they have over the last 15-20 years (SOPA being the most recent example) then the anti-copyright movement will gain A LOT of traction. People will not want copyright laws anymore if SOPA/PIPA is the price they have to pay for them, and that will hurt people as much as having copyright laws which are too draconian (albeit a different group of people).
Honestly, I think that a high-traffic site like Wikipedia should definitely blackout to a black screen with a link to americancensorship.com if they are truly against SOPA. They would get lots of attention, even from the no-so-net-savvy amongst us, and really draw people to the cause.
However, I believe it's more important for Google, Facebook and Youtube to get involved. These three have a lot to lose under SOPA/PIPA, and the latter 2 could even be shut down under these laws. And you can bet your ass they get tens of millions of hits per day from all over the globe. Yes, people outside the US should be protesting because A. It could fuck up the internet for them too, particularly social media B. It sets a bad international precedent, other countries will point to the filters and other measures the freedom-loving US has in place to justify their own similar totalitarian systems and C. Most of the companies that are pushing for the laws are big multinationals, many with offices in other countries, so they can be punished in and out of the US, but only if a sufficient number of people know about it.
Not sure if this is good news or not, there are still some very nasty aspects of SOPA/PIPA that they have failed to state they'll even think about reviewing, such as the part which could shut down future wikileaks-type sites and send anyone who looks for them or views them to the big house. But at least it's a start, and they have to start somewhere.
I agree piracy should be fought, like any other form of criminal activity. The best way to do this is for the business owners to revise their models to take into account the internet and the opportunities it presents. Look at Netflix and iTunes for examples. Providing a better service than the pirates, and providing content consumers feel is worth paying for will cost the pirates most of their business. Then legislate against the handful of people who pirate the content no matter what and those who do the actual pirating. However, if that legislation has negative effect on so much as ONE person who is not breaking the law, then the legislation has to go back to the drawing board.
His latest status update has nearly 500 comments on it, and I have only read one that had nothing to do with SOPA (it was instead about medical marijuana).
I liked Obama, and I voted for him last election, and I find him more palatable as a person than any other US president or presidential candidate so far. I thought he had a much greater moral foundation than Bush and he would never allow this sort of shit to go down under his watch. I may end up sorely disappointed. If he does not pull his finger out and use his powers as president to veto these laws, then this issue alone means the Libertarian party or the Republicans (if Ron Paul is their Presidential Candidate) will be the ones getting my vote. I hate small government libertarian politics, and you only need to look at history to see how they fail routinely regardless of the intentions behind them. But these laws need to be stopped at all costs, so if push comes to shove they will receive my vote on this issue alone.
Obama, take this as a warning. You still have an opportunity to stop this, and if you do, you'll find yourself in favor with the technological hub that exists in the same state as Hollywood, and before the end of the this decade will hold more power over voters than Hollywood (unless Hollywood dramatically revises their business model).
When you read something, words and the order in which they are used matter more than anything else. Read the official release from GoDaddy. Now tell me what the best summary of it is:
A. "We oppose SOPA because it's a dangerous, unconstitutional and draconian piece of legislation that threatens to dramatically change the internet as we know it."
OR
B. "We oppose SOPA because if we don't say "We oppose SOPA" because our customers will keep leaving us."
Did you answer "B"? Yeah, me too.
They haven't said what opposition means to them, and most importantly, they aren't showing us what they are going to DO to oppose it.
Now, should that press release have gone like this: "We are aware of the significance of the unconstitutional and draconian SOPA and PIPA laws, and we know, if made law, they could dramatically change the internet as we know it. We are also aware of the role that GoDaddy has played in both writing the laws and helping get them into Congress. This was a grave mistake on our behalf and on behalf of every man and woman working here, I wholeheartedly apologize for our involvement.
From this day forward, GoDaddy will have no part in drafting any legislation whatsoever. We will also donate $5,000,000 to the Electronic Frontiers Foundation, $500,000 towards the campaign of any political candidate who opposes the legislation, and another $500,000 if they are campaigning against a currently elected Member of Congress or Senator who supports the laws, and we will remove any and every politician who supports the laws from our donations list permanently. Additionally, should SOPA/PIPA become law, we are happy to take partial responsibility for any negative repercussions this will bring and we will help to fund any Supreme Court challenges against them. Finally, any board member who suggested that GoDaddy should support the legislation is no longer working for us.
Again, we apologize for our involvement in drafting these laws and helping get them into Congress. SOPA/PIPA are the greatest threats to freedom of speech America has ever faced, and we will do our utmost to ensure they never become law, and we urge other companies opposed to them do the same."
It would be a whole different story. But it hasn't.
Words are meaningless without actions to back them up. If you are truly for or against something, you will also take actions to back that up. GoDaddy did so when they supported SOPA, by helping write the legislation and possibly providing funds to help get it through Congress. Now they oppose it and won't take any action to back up that. If they don't, then what they are saying is nothing more than spin, and the boycott should have damn well gone ahead.
Finally, I like Obama, and I voted for him last election, and I find him more palatable as a person than any other US president or presidential candidate so far. But if he does not pull his finger out and use his powers as president to veto these laws, then this issue alone means the Libertarian party or the Republicans (if Ron Paul is their Presidential Candidate) will be the ones getting my vote. I hate small government libertarian politics, and you only need to look at history to see how they fail routinely regardless of the intentions behind them. But these laws need to be stopped at all costs, so if push comes to shove they will receive my vote on this issue alone.
GoDaddy WHOLEHEARTEDLY AND APOLOGETICALLY, SUPPORTS SOPA. What they actually oppose is that the bill currently "has not fulfilled its basic requirement to build a consensus among stake-holders". Source: judiciary.house.gov/issues/Rogue%20Websites/List%20of%20SOPA%20Supporters.pdf
Techdirt, if you oppose SOPA/PIPA, I expect a full piece on this as soon as possible.
No-one's attacking GoDaddy's right to publicly support legislation. But in turn, people also have the right to both stop doing business with a company which supports legislation they do not agree with, announce the fact they are doing so, and encourage (but not force) others to do the same. The catch is [b]ALL[/b] of that is protected by the same principle of free speech that allows GoDaddy to say they support the act.
Threatening to stop doing business with a company for any reason whatsoever is a perfectly legitimate and peaceful way to get ones point across and is most definitely NOT extortion. Extortion is the use of violence or threats of it to make someone do or not do something. You comparing someone peacefully moving their business away from a company who spends their customer's money doing something they don't agree with to someone sending a letter bomb to GoDaddy's headquarters for spending their customer's money on something they don't agree with. Saying they are one-and-the-same is fallacious, misleading and ignorant.
They likely still secretly support it but are only doing this as a PR exercise in order to reduce the number of users they're bleeding (37,000+ last I heard) and in order to stop Drop your GoDaddy Domain Day. Do not be surprised when it's discovered that they continued to support the bills further down the track.
And even if they don't, you can bet their support has been paraded around by politicians who support the act. An internet company whose willing to support the bills would have significant leverage on the debate. They have to do something to make up for that. And lets not forget that the legislation they've been supporting would end up turning many of those who use their service into criminals. By supporting these acts, they demonstrated they were willing to betray their own customers. If they truly are against it, they will donate a sizable amount of money to spread public awareness of SOPA/PIPA and to support the campaigns of politicians who have or will vote against the laws. Then and only then will I believe them.
Until that happens, I would ask that anyone whose threatened to walk away from them to make good on their threat, and those who have walked away continue to make good on it. Actions speak louder than words (that goes to both those who threatened to jump ship and GoDaddy themselves). If GoDaddy goes under because of this, imagine the message it will give to other supporters of the act.
I'm happy my employers don't use GoDaddy to host their domains.
On the post: Google Goes Big With Its SOPA/PIPA Protests; Blacks Out Logo
On the post: Senator Ron Wyden To The Internet: Thank You For Speaking Up... But We're Not Done Yet
A thank you to Ron Wyden
It's clear that you've had the sound of money being flapped in your ear by the **AA's and other vested interests over this since before the laws were even called SOPA and PIPA. But yet, you refused to listen to just those with the money, you did your own research and listened to your constituents on the matter, you said "NO" to those who push these laws, and probably denying yourself a fortune and/or a cushy job further down he track in the process. That is a mark of an outstanding politician. Keep up the good fight, don't let us down now.
I salute you.
On the post: Denial: MPAA Pretends That No Big Sites Have Joined SOPA/PIPA Protests
On the post: It's Official: Wikipedia To Go Dark On Wednesday
It to attempt to show those who aren't quite-so-net-savvy what the future WILL hold under these bills. A 12-24 hour long taster, if you will.
And if that statement was true, why do the bills have any support at all in Congress? They'll will effectively leave the internet at the mercy of the RIAA/MPAA, their archaic business models and anyone else whom has the capacity to take the time required to put up a real or false copyright claim against a website or business.
On the post: It's Official: Wikipedia To Go Dark On Wednesday
Re: Re:
Wikipedia is a very good start though.
On the post: It's Official: Wikipedia To Go Dark On Wednesday
On the post: Why I Hope The RIAA Succeeds
On the post: Why I Hope The RIAA Succeeds
RE: It's time for the **AA's to go back to the drawing board
See, we're willing to compromise. :)
On the post: Why I Hope The RIAA Succeeds
It's time for the
and B. Copyright laws are currently well and truly beyond what any person would deem reasonable (if they do not have a vested interest in ensuring they stay that way).
What the government would be better off doing is:
1.Set copyright laws to:
- Only allow copyright to last for 50 years after the work's release and no longer.
- Extend what is allowed under fair use to include pretty much anything other than displaying or selling the work for profit WITHOUT permission from, acknowledgement of and if requested, paying royalties to, the original copyright holder.
2. Tell the **AA's the government is not going to cover their asses anymore, and they either have to embrace and adapt their business models to new technology of any shape or form, or go into bankruptcy. That, after all, is the way of the free market.
If the **AA's continue to push the sort of crap that they have over the last 15-20 years (SOPA being the most recent example) then the anti-copyright movement will gain A LOT of traction. People will not want copyright laws anymore if SOPA/PIPA is the price they have to pay for them, and that will hurt people as much as having copyright laws which are too draconian (albeit a different group of people).
On the post: Jimmy Wales In Favor Of Wikipedia Blackout: Community Must Decide
However, I believe it's more important for Google, Facebook and Youtube to get involved. These three have a lot to lose under SOPA/PIPA, and the latter 2 could even be shut down under these laws. And you can bet your ass they get tens of millions of hits per day from all over the globe. Yes, people outside the US should be protesting because
A. It could fuck up the internet for them too, particularly social media
B. It sets a bad international precedent, other countries will point to the filters and other measures the freedom-loving US has in place to justify their own similar totalitarian systems and
C. Most of the companies that are pushing for the laws are big multinationals, many with offices in other countries, so they can be punished in and out of the US, but only if a sufficient number of people know about it.
On the post: White House Comes Out Against The Approach In SOPA/PIPA In Response To Online Petition
I agree piracy should be fought, like any other form of criminal activity. The best way to do this is for the business owners to revise their models to take into account the internet and the opportunities it presents. Look at Netflix and iTunes for examples. Providing a better service than the pirates, and providing content consumers feel is worth paying for will cost the pirates most of their business. Then legislate against the handful of people who pirate the content no matter what and those who do the actual pirating. However, if that legislation has negative effect on so much as ONE person who is not breaking the law, then the legislation has to go back to the drawing board.
On the post: Rep. Lamar Smith Decides Lying About, Insulting And Dismissing Opposition To SOPA Is A Winning Strategy
^ Truth.
On the post: Obama Working To 'Fix' His Relationship With Hollywood
Obama. Time to go?
Obama, take this as a warning. You still have an opportunity to stop this, and if you do, you'll find yourself in favor with the technological hub that exists in the same state as Hollywood, and before the end of the this decade will hold more power over voters than Hollywood (unless Hollywood dramatically revises their business model).
On the post: US State Dept: Don't Censor The Internet! Unless We Order You To, As We Did In Spain...
That alone is enough for people to stop listening to them. Why aren't they?
On the post: GoDaddy Boycott Fizzles; Twice As Many Domains Transfer In As Out
A. "We oppose SOPA because it's a dangerous, unconstitutional and draconian piece of legislation that threatens to dramatically change the internet as we know it."
OR
B. "We oppose SOPA because if we don't say "We oppose SOPA" because our customers will keep leaving us."
Did you answer "B"? Yeah, me too.
They haven't said what opposition means to them, and most importantly, they aren't showing us what they are going to DO to oppose it.
Now, should that press release have gone like this:
"We are aware of the significance of the unconstitutional and draconian SOPA and PIPA laws, and we know, if made law, they could dramatically change the internet as we know it. We are also aware of the role that GoDaddy has played in both writing the laws and helping get them into Congress. This was a grave mistake on our behalf and on behalf of every man and woman working here, I wholeheartedly apologize for our involvement.
From this day forward, GoDaddy will have no part in drafting any legislation whatsoever. We will also donate $5,000,000 to the Electronic Frontiers Foundation, $500,000 towards the campaign of any political candidate who opposes the legislation, and another $500,000 if they are campaigning against a currently elected Member of Congress or Senator who supports the laws, and we will remove any and every politician who supports the laws from our donations list permanently. Additionally, should SOPA/PIPA become law, we are happy to take partial responsibility for any negative repercussions this will bring and we will help to fund any Supreme Court challenges against them. Finally, any board member who suggested that GoDaddy should support the legislation is no longer working for us.
Again, we apologize for our involvement in drafting these laws and helping get them into Congress. SOPA/PIPA are the greatest threats to freedom of speech America has ever faced, and we will do our utmost to ensure they never become law, and we urge other companies opposed to them do the same."
It would be a whole different story. But it hasn't.
Words are meaningless without actions to back them up. If you are truly for or against something, you will also take actions to back that up. GoDaddy did so when they supported SOPA, by helping write the legislation and possibly providing funds to help get it through Congress. Now they oppose it and won't take any action to back up that. If they don't, then what they are saying is nothing more than spin, and the boycott should have damn well gone ahead.
Finally, I like Obama, and I voted for him last election, and I find him more palatable as a person than any other US president or presidential candidate so far. But if he does not pull his finger out and use his powers as president to veto these laws, then this issue alone means the Libertarian party or the Republicans (if Ron Paul is their Presidential Candidate) will be the ones getting my vote. I hate small government libertarian politics, and you only need to look at history to see how they fail routinely regardless of the intentions behind them. But these laws need to be stopped at all costs, so if push comes to shove they will receive my vote on this issue alone.
On the post: GoDaddy Boycott Fizzles; Twice As Many Domains Transfer In As Out
GoDaddy no longer supports SOPA? BULLSHIT.
That's B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T.
GoDaddy WHOLEHEARTEDLY AND APOLOGETICALLY, SUPPORTS SOPA. What they actually oppose is that the bill currently "has not fulfilled its basic requirement to build a consensus among stake-holders". Source: judiciary.house.gov/issues/Rogue%20Websites/List%20of%20SOPA%20Supporters.pdf
Techdirt, if you oppose SOPA/PIPA, I expect a full piece on this as soon as possible.
On the post: Breaking: GoDaddy Drops SOPA Support
No-one's attacking GoDaddy's right to publicly support legislation. But in turn, people also have the right to both stop doing business with a company which supports legislation they do not agree with, announce the fact they are doing so, and encourage (but not force) others to do the same. The catch is [b]ALL[/b] of that is protected by the same principle of free speech that allows GoDaddy to say they support the act.
Threatening to stop doing business with a company for any reason whatsoever is a perfectly legitimate and peaceful way to get ones point across and is most definitely NOT extortion. Extortion is the use of violence or threats of it to make someone do or not do something. You comparing someone peacefully moving their business away from a company who spends their customer's money doing something they don't agree with to someone sending a letter bomb to GoDaddy's headquarters for spending their customer's money on something they don't agree with. Saying they are one-and-the-same is fallacious, misleading and ignorant.
On the post: Breaking: GoDaddy Drops SOPA Support
They likely still secretly support it but are only doing this as a PR exercise in order to reduce the number of users they're bleeding (37,000+ last I heard) and in order to stop Drop your GoDaddy Domain Day. Do not be surprised when it's discovered that they continued to support the bills further down the track.
And even if they don't, you can bet their support has been paraded around by politicians who support the act. An internet company whose willing to support the bills would have significant leverage on the debate. They have to do something to make up for that. And lets not forget that the legislation they've been supporting would end up turning many of those who use their service into criminals. By supporting these acts, they demonstrated they were willing to betray their own customers. If they truly are against it, they will donate a sizable amount of money to spread public awareness of SOPA/PIPA and to support the campaigns of politicians who have or will vote against the laws. Then and only then will I believe them.
Until that happens, I would ask that anyone whose threatened to walk away from them to make good on their threat, and those who have walked away continue to make good on it. Actions speak louder than words (that goes to both those who threatened to jump ship and GoDaddy themselves). If GoDaddy goes under because of this, imagine the message it will give to other supporters of the act.
I'm happy my employers don't use GoDaddy to host their domains.
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