It’s always nice when family has your back. So it should come as a great relief to hear that Tim Berners-Lee, father of the internet, opposes recent controversial web freedom-limiting legislation such as SOPA and PIPA.
Copyright maths might not be something you’ve lent much thought to before, but in this talk Rob Reid — founder of Rhapsody — tries to explain the silly numbers that are used to justify SOPA and PIPA. He’s very funny, and his talk is very interesting. Turns out your iPod might be worth more than you thought.
We’ve asked before if you buy, rent, beg or steal music or movies online. The question is why? Is it because – as Mark over at Kotaku and the founder of Reddit separately point out – some quarters of the industry make it harder and slower to purchase content legally than it has become to grab it free? Geek comic The Oatmeal picks up on this thread, and as ever, captures the problem perfectly.
After the internet bandied up together and killed SOPA, you’d think the government would be a little weary of introducing SOPA-like bills less the internet start a revolution and start calling out dumb politicians. Guess not though, because it looks like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid still wants to censor the internet with a new bill hidden under the mask of cybersecurity. SOPA in sheep’s clothing.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement certainly sounds, just on the name of the thing alone, like not such a bad idea. But for the basic principles of personal privacy it is, and it’s the latest in the recent rash of acronymic acts that the Internet’s up in arms about. Here’s what we in Australia need to know.
Following in the proud, wide, footsteps of SOPA and PIPA, the US Senate is set to vote on another internet regulation bill this week — and the web is worrying already. Justified? Maybe. Unfortunately, the public isn’t allowed to read it.
Another bill which would have violated the civil liberties of many — Hawaii’s H.B. 2288 Internet Dossier bill — has been pulled off the table following public outrage. And for good reason; the law would have tracked every website Hawaiians visited and linked that browsing history to a name and address. It opened the door to profound first and fourth US amendment violations. But worst of all, it was born out of ignorance.
Before a few dense US senators threatened to start shutting down websites without any semblance of due process, there was another SOPA: the Scottish Organic Producers Association. And unfortunately, this small band of farmers found themselves on the receiving end of last week’s public fury.
Senator Chuck Grassley, previously documented for his inability to express a coherent thought via World Wide Web, just had that burden removed: his Twitter account has been hacked. For the first time ever, his tweets make sense!
This game doesn’t look like a lot of fun, doesn’t it? Unless you are an MPAA and RIAA executive, that is. They love all that handcuff role-playing.
