SOPA, PIPA, ACTA – the four-letter acronyms of the various laws and trade agreements aimed at cracking down on internet piracy have been swirling about the internet lately. More often than not these regulations have been crafted behind closed doors, leading to discussions about each that are too murky and confusing by half. Hyperbole abounds, often magnifying […]
Read more at Forbes.
Now that SOPA has been shelved, the Entertainment Software Association has dropped its support of the bill. Not long ago the video game lobbying group remained staunch supporters of both SOPA and PIPA. Piracy, they claimed, was hurting the booming video game industry. The political winds have shifted, and industry groups and politicians alike are […]
Read more at Forbes.
Julian Sanchez has an excellent piece in Ars Technica which takes a look at the claim that content creators are being discouraged from creative pursuits due to online piracy – a claim that has fueled the recently stalled anti-piracy legislation in congress. Whether SOPA and PIPA would have actually worked is an open question, but […]
Read more at Forbes.
This is via ProPublica, and it’s a wonder to behold: It’s not a done deal yet, of course, but opponents of SOPA and PIPA at least have the momentum at this point. This may be the first time we’ve seen the power of online grassroots activism combined with beneficent tech corporations but it won’t be […]
Read more at Forbes.
An internet blackout and protests online and in person helped grind anti-piracy legislation to a halt in congress. But the fight isn’t over yet. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) called off a vote on the controversial Protect IP Act (PIPA) after Wednesday’s internet blackout and statements from the president indicating that more discussion was […]
Read more at Forbes.
During its blackout Wednesday Wikipedia asked users to imagine a world without free knowledge and then call their representatives in congress. Millions of Americans took that to heart. Along with the 4.5 million people who signed the anti-censorship petition, millions more looked up information about their congressional representatives. No wonder politicians are starting to feel […]
Read more at Forbes.
The internet is a strange and mysterious place today. I keep forgetting Wikipedia is down and going over there to look up this or that subject. Then I’m reminded that no, Wikipedia and Reddit and Craigslist and many other sites have gone black to protest the anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA. Over at Wired David […]
Read more at Forbes.
All across the internet today, websites have gone dark to protest two bills in congress that aim at cracking down on online piracy. However, these bills – SOPA in the House and PIPA in the Senate – are widely believed to go too far, netting many law-abiding citizens and websites in their attempt to quash […]
Read more at Forbes.
Wikipedia, one of the most highly trafficked websites in the world, along with the popular, highly trafficked community Reddit will both go dark Wednesday, January 18th. The sites are blacking out to protest controversial anti-piracy legislation in the House and Senate. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales took to Twitter to talk about the coming blackout. “This […]
Read more at Forbes.
Lost in the discussion of internet censorship, anti-piracy measures, and the politics of the internet is a simple question: does piracy actually cause economic harm? Tim O’Reilly read the White House statement on the SOPA / PIPA legislation and came away with mixed feelings. “I found myself profoundly disturbed by something that seems to me […]
Read more at Forbes.