SOPA
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Exclusive: Threats range from governments trying to control citizens to the rise of Facebook and Apple-style 'walled gardens' The principles of openness and universal access that underpinned the creation of the internet three decades ago are under greater threat than ever, according to Google co-founder Sergey Brin. In an interview with the Guardian, Brin warned there were "very powerful forces that have lined up against the open internet on all sides and around the world".
Web freedom faces greatest threat ever, warns Google's Sergey Brin | Technology | The Guardian
We reported a few weeks ago on Bill C-30 , a Canadian bill introduced that would essentially allow the state to spy on Internet users. The EFF is reporting that the bill is now on pause after an enormous public outcry from its citizens. The protests consisted of the usual antics that were used during the SOPA/PIPA protests in the U.S. One of the more interesting protest movements being a Twitter hashtag – #tellviceverything .
Canadian Anti-Privacy Bill Delayed After Public Outcry | WebProNews
Berlin wants to build toll booths on the internet | GlobalPost
BERLIN, Germany — The internet community is up in arms over a planned copyright law which would force search engines and news aggregators like Google News to pay traditional media firms for publishing snippets of their online content. Media groups in Germany, such as the powerful Springer Verlag, which publishes Bild and Die Welt, and Bertelsmann, have long complained that sites such as Google News are making money off the back of their journalists’ work. They say that, as the original publishers, they should be compensated in some way. Now the government is taking up their cause. In early March, Angela Merkel’s coalition government announced that it would draw up new legislation to compensate publishers. More from GlobalPost: Germany battles over future of solar
Take Action: ISPs Selling Out Customers, Pushing Backdoor SOPA They're selling us out. Just weeks after Internet users from across the globe came together to to beat SOPA, the major ISPs are cutting a deal with Big Content to restrict web access for users who are accused of piracy. It'll do much of the dirty work we were able to prevent when we took down SOPA, this time by restricting certain Americans' access to the WHOLE Internet.
Take Action: ISPs Selling Out Customers, Pushing Backdoor SOPA | Demand Progress
In Massachusetts, tiny Pirate Party champions Internet freedom
Six years after the Pirate Party first appeared on the US political scene, the Internet freedom fighters haven't gained much of a foothold in American politics. But in Massachusetts, a small group is trying to drum up support for the party's platforms of defending privacy, reforming copyright laws, abolishing patents, and opposing laws that restrict sharing of content on the Internet. Formed in 2010 and approved as an official political designation by the state in February 2011, the Massachusetts Pirate Party will host its first conference on Saturday, March 10 in Cambridge's Democracy Center.
Things have been rather— rather —quiet on the Anonymous front since the loose band of hackers teamed with WikiLeaks to publish the Global Intelligence Files , obtained from the Stratfor hack. Now, Anonymous has issued “ A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace .” While the declaration’s title fully communicates the message, the post-modern rhetoric must be read in its entirety to be fully appreciated. One line in particular is especially interesting: “We declare the global social space we are building to be naturally independent of the tyrannies you seek to impose on us.” It speaks to the absurdity of any government attempting to regulate something that is etheric; a creation beyond geography or product.
Anonymous’ Declaration of Independence and the question of Internet sovereignty | Death and Taxes
resistance to sopa
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (AFP Photo / Chip Somodevilla) The Internet was awarded a major victory Friday morning as Congress announced that they will indefinitely postpone voting on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). The win, while a major success viewed in the eyes of advocates for a free and open Internet, is for the meantime, however, only a momentary one.
PIPA postponed indefinitely — RT
Stop American Censorship — a campaign from Fight for the Future
Enter your text here, and we'll give you back a censored version to post to twitter, facebook, or your blog or website. You’ll also get a link that your readers or friends will have to click on in order to read the redacted text -- they’ll have to email or call Congress to reveal what was censored.
Chris Dodd - Statement on blackout
y days after the White House and chief sponsors of the legislation responded to the major concern expressed by opponents and then called for all parties to work cooperatively together, some technology business interests are resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their corporate pawns, rather than coming to the table to find solutions to a problem that all now seem to agree is very real and damaging. It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information and use their services. It is also an abuse of power giv en the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today. is yet another gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals. It is our hope that the White House and the Congress will call on those who intend to
The Impact of U.S. Internet Copyright Regulations on Early-Stage Investment
Abstract: New startup companies have long been an important driver of innovation and economic growth in the U.S., and few of them would have grown to maturity without early-stage financing. This study, based on a survey of almost 200 angel investors and interviews with 20 prominent venture capitalists, analyzes the extent to which this financing might be affected by the copyright regulatory environment.
blog.reddit -- what's new on reddit: A technical examination of SOPA and PROTECT IP
As you have probably heard, there are two pieces of legislation currently pending that we, and others like us, believe seriously threaten the internet. I wanted to take some time to delve into the text of both of these bills, and outline their potential consequences as I am able to understand them. As you can imagine, this is a complex issue, and as a result this is going to be a complex post. I highly encourage you to set some time aside to read this thoroughly . Grab some caffeine, we are going to be here for a while.Wikipedia Goes Dark For 24 Hours To Protest Web Piracy Bills | Fox News
SAN FRANCISCO – Can the world live without Wikipedia for a day? The user-driven online encyclopedia is one of the Internet's most visited sites, and at midnight Eastern Standard Time it began a 24-hour "blackout" in protest against proposed anti-piracy legislation that many leading websites -- including Reddit, Google, Facebook, Amazon and others -- contend will make it challenging if not impossible for them to operate. It's a dramatic response to the Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, a pair of bills backed by the motion picture and recording industries that are intended to eliminate theft online once and for all.Bloggers unite to crush SOPA — RT
Bloggers are taking on SOPA, one post at a time. The war over copyright infringement on the Internet might seem like an easy one for some members of Congress, but for supporters of the Stop Online Piracy Act, Capitol Hill is about to battle it out with some big opponents: bloggers. From micromessages warning of the dangers of the act on Twitter in under 140 characters to affectations manifested in lengthy diatribes ripe with legalese, the blogosphere is brimming with concern over what the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, will do to the Internet. While lawmakers insist that the legislation is necessary to curtail copyright infringement, some users of the Web are writing on their sites that the Internet as we know it will be brought down by the act, weblogs and all.I am writing to you as a voter in your district. I urge you to vote "no" on cloture for S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act, on Jan. 24th. The PROTECT IP Act is dangerous, ineffective, and short-sighted. It does not deserve floor consideration. I urge my representative to vote "no" on SOPA, the corresponding House bill. Over coming days you'll be hearing from the many businesses, advocacy organizations, and ordinary Americans who oppose this legislation because of the myriad ways in which it will stifle free speech and innovation.