COICA bill in congress.....

[cherrqell]

Could this bill if passed give the government the authority to shut down webs sites such as ebay, and craiglist where suspected ⊗⊗⊗⊗ goods are sold?

google coica petition to sign and let your voice be heard in Washington




Congress Has Plans for an Internet Blacklist in the Works -- Let's Stop This Now
A group of powerful Senators -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- have signed onto a bill that would vastly expand the government's power to censor the Internet.
October 1, 2010 |



When it really matters to them, Congressmembers can come together -- with a panache and wry wit you didn't know they had. As banned books week gets underway, and President Obama admonishes oppressive regimes for their censorship of the Internet, a group of powerful Senators -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- have signed onto a bill that would vastly expand the government's power to censor the Internet.

The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) was introduced in late September, but it's greased and ready to move, with a hearing in front of the Judiciary Committee this Thursday. If people don't speak out, US citizens could soon find themselves joining Iranians and Chinese in being blocked from accessing broad chunks of the public Internet.

Help us stop this bill in its tracks! Click here to sign our petition.

COICA creates two blacklists of Internet domain names. Courts could add sites to the first list; the Attorney General would have control over the second. Internet service providers and others (everyone from Comcast to PayPal to Google AdSense) would be required to block any domains on the first list. They would also receive immunity (and presumably the good favor of the government) if they block domains on the second list.

The lists are for sites "dedicated to infringing activity," but that's defined very broadly -- any domain name where counterfeit goods or copyrighted material are "central to the activity of the Internet site" could be blocked.

One example of what this means in practice: sites like YouTube could be censored in the US. Copyright holders like Viacom often argue copyrighted material is central to the activity of YouTube, but under current US law, YouTube is perfectly legal as long as they take down copyrighted material when they're informed about it -- which is why Viacom lost to YouTube in court.

But if COICA passes, Viacom wouldn't even need to prove YouTube is doing anything illegal to get it shut down -- as long as they can persuade the courts that enough other people are using it for copyright infringement, the whole site could be censored.

Perhaps even more disturbing: Even if Viacom couldn't get a court to compel censorship of a YouTube or a similar site, the DOJ could put it on the second blacklist and encourage ISPs to block it even without a court order. (ISPs have ample reason to abide the will of the powerful DOJ, even if the law doesn't formally require them to do so.)

COICA's passage would be a tremendous blow to free speech on the Internet -- and likely a first step towards much broader online censorship. Please help us fight back: The first step is signing our petition. We'll give you the tools to share it with your friends and call your Senator.

[jamblix]

This will never happen. Of course the same was said about internet gambling, but this is on such a larger scale it would be impossible. Imagine all the criticisms and protest. And as a side note...people in the US still gamble on the internet. So even if they do decide to censor, we will find ways around it either way.

[MadSam]

jamblix has said it exactly how it is.

[jeffweico]

I had heard about this bill, and it IS frightening. It may be passed with the best of intentions, but lawyers will get ahold of it and use the letter of the law to shut down sites their clients don't like. And that could mean anything.

And we all know that the copyright and trademark holders are not exactly reasonable when it comes to protecting thier stuff. Universal and DIsney sued to stop the introduction of the VCR. The Music industry stubbornly refused to make their product available in digital form. Then, when piracy took over, their answer was to sue individuals for tens of thousands of dollars. Sony released a CD that installed spyware onto your computer secretly, so it could monitor the owner for any infringing activity. The MPAA has asked several times for the government to REQUIRE that software be pre-loaded (and probably un-deletable) on all PC's sold so that they can shut down your PC if they see something they don't like.

I'm sorry, but this is RIDICULOUS! Not to mention an invasion of of privacy and a threat to our freedoms. The Copyright and Trademark holders would argue that their measures would only be used to protect them from infringement. But we all know that in practice, politicians, lawyers and others will find a way to exploit that type of technology to their advantage.

If the MPAA and the RIAA want to stop piracy, there is a very simple solution that would stop it once and for all. Make the product available via something like Netflix at a reasonable cost. Most people won't download a movie if they can play it for $1 over the internet.

But the MPAA and RIAA don't like that idea. The RIAA wants to continue to sell CD's of 10-12 songs to consumers for $15 - even though the consumer only wants one or two songs on the CD. And the MPAA feels that every viewing of a movie should cost $5+. Both of those business models are unsustainable. The good news for them is that if they made this stuff available at a reasonable cost, they would make more money than ever. But there are too many established interests that don't want to see that.

Cable companies are TERRIFIED of this. They know that people won't buy bundled packs of channels that cost a fortune and increase in price by 12% or more each year if they can watch what they want online for a much smaller price. And if this starts to happen, you can bet that Comcast will tell you that you have to pay $50 per megabyte for internet service.

But eventually, technology will win out. It always does. The gas companies tried to stop electricity by claiming it was very dangerous for people to have it in their homes (like gas lighting is safe???). They were able to fight it for a while, but in the end they couldn't stop it. The same thing will happen in this case.

It is just a matter of how many freedoms people have to lose and how screwed up things will get before it happens.

[pod]

Leave it to the US government to try and control the internet. This isn't China....

There has never been anything like the internet in the history of mankind. And some dimwits think it needs to be controlled. But you have to take the good with the bad. With the exception of children being harmed, it needs to stay a free and open and uncensored environment.

No single government in the world has the right to decide whats good or bad on the internet. And any politician that thinks they do is an idiot that belongs in the 15th century.

If an idiotic bill like this passed it would be beaten down quickly.

[MadSam]

I totally agree, but this has been a long time coming. These have been the golden days of the internet where freedom rules. In 10-20 years the internet will be nowhere as free as it is now, but people will still be doing fine.

[pod]

Originally Posted by MadSam

In 10-20 years the internet will be nowhere as free as it is now

I hope thats not the case. but it could happen. But when ever something happens people dont like, they find a way. Human nature can not be controlled.... Killing napster hardly stopped mp3 downloads. In fact it arguably made it easier because tons of other options took its place.

[jeffweico]

Originally Posted by pod

I hope thats not the case. but it could happen. But when ever something happens people dont like, they find a way. Human nature can not be controlled.... Killing napster hardly stopped mp3 downloads. In fact it arguably made it easier because tons of other options took its place.

True. And they blame everyone else for their problems.

Their biggest problem is their business model. People want to watch what they want to watch WHEN they want to watch it and WHERE they want to watch it. But the studios want to limit people.

Hulu is a perfect example. They demanded that Boxee stop streaming their content as they did not like the fact that it could then be played on the users TV set.

When X-Men Origins surfaced on Pirate Bay before the film was even in theaters, they howled aplenty about internet piracy. Of course, they don't blame their own internal SECURITY MEASURES! Somone entrusted with their movie made it available. It was NOT a college kid in his dorm room, it was one of their employees, or one of their contractors employees.

Again, if they would just get over themselves and lower the prices and make it EASILY available, then they would make more money than ever and piracy would not be a problem. But no, they would rather spend a ton of taxpayer dollars to try to protect a dying business model. They should ask travel agents and newspaper publishers how that is working out for them. Or better yet, just ask BLOCKBUSTER!

[pod]

The movie industry should have learned from the music industry. The music industry wanted absolutely nothing to do with digital. They were naive enough to think they could just make it illegal and that would be that. Stupid stupid move. While they spent 100s of millions trying to stop it, it exploded. And Steve Jobs was smart enough right out of the gate to make a player. That worked out pretty well for him....

They should have opened up to it right out of the gate. Now the same thing is happening with movies. They need to make it easy to get and cheap. And they need to do it now. There should have been a universal player connected to the internet for steaming movies, cheaply, managed by the studios and distribution companies in every home 2 years ago...

[cherrqell]

Stop the Internet Blacklist! | Demand Progress

Please sign the petition. This is really scary stuff. The terrorists are really winning. All this government spying, and regulation started with that a-hole Bush, Chaney, and the Patriot Act.

America is waging war on its own citizens, and are we really safer, or more protected? What a bunch of BULLSIHT!

[revskank]

COICA

In the United States, a new law proposal called The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) WAS introduced, and there will be a hearing in front of the Judiciary Committee.
This hearing has already taken place about a week ago!

If passed, this law will allow the government, under the command of the media companies, to censor the internet as they see fit, like China and Iran do, with the difference that the sites they decide to censor will be completely removed from the internet and not just in the US.

Update, from EFF's website:
The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed the scheduled markup of the Internet censorship bill — a fantastic outcome, given that the entertainment industry and their allies in Congress had hoped this bill would be quickly approved before the Senators went home for the October recess.

Everyone can relax for a while!

[MadSam]

COICA

In the United States, a new law proposal called The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) was introduced last week, and there will be a hearing in front of the Judiciary Committee this Thursday.

If passed, this law will allow the government, under the command of the media companies, to censor the internet as they see fit, like China and Iran do, with the difference that the sites they decide to censor will be completely removed from the internet and not just in the US.

Please see the following article from the Huffington Post for more information.

Stop the Internet Blacklist

And if you are a US citizen, please take the time to sign this petition
DemandProgress.org - Petition to Stop the Internet Blacklist!


Update: Also for US citizens, you can email your Senator from the following link and tell him or her your concerns about this bill

Tell Your Senator: No Website Blacklists, No Internet Censorship!

Update, from EFF's website: the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed the scheduled markup of the Internet censorship bill — a fantastic outcome, given that the entertainment industry and their allies in Congress had hoped this bill would be quickly approved before the Senators went home for the October recess. Massive thanks to all who used the EFF Action Center to write to your Senators to oppose this bill.

[imthatguy]

This will never pass. Each time a new president takes office, Republicans try to push a crazy bill through just to test him her

[FandangoKango]

Welcome to the new world order 2012!

[jeffweico]

I hate to say it, but I think it *WILL* pass.

America is entering a period of economic decline. I'm speaking generally, not about the current economic malaise. China and India will be the great growth stories this century. Out economy is mature now, and we owe a TON of money.

The special interests are going to FIGHT LIKE HELL to protect what they have and get richer REGARDLESS of the economic reality. And our politicians will gladly hand it to them on a silver platter. Even if it means taking away our freedoms and it ends up huriting the average citizen.

If the top 2% can keep it going and continue to grow richer and live in paradise, it will make no difference if the bottom 75% of the people are starving to death.

That is the American way these days.

[slapped]

The Truth of the Matter is that this all started in the Bush Administration with the Creation of the position of "Anti-Piracy Czar",,,The Obama Adminstration has also made This a Hot issue since taking office supporting MANY such bills like COICA and ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) and also appointing the First Copyright Czar,,,,Victoria A. Espinel,,,Who is STILL Being Wined and Dined by the MPAA, RIAA, (Music and Movie industry):

Obama Appoints Scholar as New Copyright Czar | Threat Level | Wired.com

So Like it or Not all of these Bills have STRONG Support WHERE IT COUNTS,,in Washington,,,,and how we "The Lowly People" feel is Irrelevant,,,,

These Bills will Pass in Some form,,,it is Unfortunate,,but true,,,

the ONLY Reason that they will pass is MONEY,,,Pure and Simple,,,,the Movie and Music industries feel that they can Make More money selling Fewer CD's for $20.00 than Massive amounts for $2.00,,,and they will GLADLY,,, Wine, Dine, and Fund Campagins for Politicians, as well as make "Donations" to A Politicians "Favorite" Charity, They are VERY Happy spending Hunderds of Millions to Push their agenda,,,,

Here is a Site that really stays on top of these issues:

Zeropaid.com - if it's free it's for me!

Also GREAT For "Other " Stuff


SADLY However,,,, in the end it is their Money that TALKS,,,,Not Our VOICES

[revskank]

COICA
November 12, Update:

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a markup Nov. 18 on S. 3804, Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act.

[slapped]

Originally Posted by revskank

COICA
November 12, Update:

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a markup Nov. 18 on S. 3804, Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act.

What Exactly is a Markup?

[revskank]

Originally Posted by slapped

What Exactly is a Markup?

markup - The process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation.

[Axcend]

Australia already has passed laws controlling parts of the internet and whats allowed and whats not. It's just a matter of time until the united states plays catch up. the worst part is, is when this fails to get passed the first time, they will quietly bring it up again 6 months to 1 year later and pass it without anyone knowing it was up for vote again. this happens all the time in politics, especially in this country :/

[revskank]

This new bill is a bit more serious. If this come into play they will have the power to remove entire websites from the net and not just prevent certain countries from accessing them. This is a worldwide issue and not just a problem for the US.

[backplaya33]

Screw signing the petitions. Write to your congressman, they aren't going to see your name on the petition. I know that it takes a lot more effort, but it shows a lot more concern and they may actually care. Also this if this is really going to effect other countries then I believe that people should write to whoever represents them in the country they live in.