Say good bye to freedom on the internet - was nice while it lasted.
November 12, 2008
There are so many fronts on which the "freedom" of the internet is under attack in my own country, neighbouring countries, and elsewhere.
Here in New Zealand a new copyright act went into effect on 1st November. The most controversial clause has been delayed until 28th February. This clause says that an ISP must have a policy of disconnecting anyone repeatedly accused of copyright infringment. ...
That's accusation only. There's no oppourtunity to defend yourself, no recourse for reconnection, and there's no penalty for false accusations. If you want someone off the internet you need only repeatedly accuse them of copyright infringement ("repeatedly" has legal precidents to mean 3 times). Aparently file sharing is so bad you don't even get a trial (can they not see where that logic leads?). Even pedaphiles get a trial before they are considered guilty and punished. I could not continue my occupation if i was disconnected.
There's also that great treaty called "ACTA" - Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, which on the surface is defending against fake prada handbags, but also fake baby prams (won't someone please think of the children!).. and fake medicines. I'm unsure if they mean cheap generic medicines that infringes patents, or if they mean dangerous medicines that aren't what they say on the labels -- but regardless, the Music and Film industry have been asked for their wishlist (to crack down on those dangerous counterfeit music tracks). The problem is the countries participating in ACTA negotiations have signed with the USA that they will not reveal the contents of the treaty until after they ratify it.
The public were asked for submissions in New Zealand, but how the frack am i to send a submission on a treaty when i cannot see the contents of it?
In the EU a group of citizens used their official information act to force the EU council to reveal the contents of this treaty... the Council said No. Who are they accountable to? Aparently not to their citizens and not to their own laws.
Within the wishlists of RIAA is making ISPs liable for copyright infringement that happens through their networks.. This we need to be very vocal about. How's an ISP to know whether a data packet contains a copyright infringement?? by only allowing you to talk to sony.com + apple.com ?
In other news, Australia looks like it's about to force all isps to enforce a blacklist of IPs. The result is all of Australia's internet access being filtered, in the on going mission to stamp out child porn. Their internet is going to get horribly slow, and it's not going to stop child porn. You just know the black list (a huge collection of child porn website urls) is going to leak out straight into the hands of the folks who want these urls. I hear a politician is trying to get a list of all R18 sites and add that to a list also. That's some huge list to check against on every packet. (not just port 80, otherwise it'd be too easy to bypass).
NZ copyright links
http://coffee.geek.nz/copyrightnz
Did Mark Harris get any
Did Mark Harris get any further with his correspondence here?
http://acta.lemming-brothers.com/tiki-index.php?page=MED+Correspondance
The NZ government declared
The NZ government declared they will not give the requested information because:
Don't you just love that
Don't you just love that clause? Seeing as I am a new zealand citizen I am not allowed to ask about what my government are doing because it will compromise my safety? Aren't that so kind and generous and wonderful? Maybe we should all start calling john key "Papa Key"
Organized culture gives us
Organized culture gives us civilization, which in turn gives us government. Privacy is a right, not a privilege, and government grants its citizens full access to this right until it is abused. Like any other right when abused, the scope of freedom is inevitably curtailed until a balance is achieved between citizens rights and their rights to not be abused by others.
Online abuse we would never tolerate in the material world runs rampant on the network because some people have an odd cultural disconnect from personal accountability to their actions when using the internet. A wise government takes the least steps possible but ensures an equally inevitable return to fair dealing, no harassment, no copyright infringement, no fraud, in all realms under its jurisdiction. People will wise up and the network will be free or they will not and instead continue to abuse these freedoms until they are curtailed and the internet is "saved" by heavy handed legislation and law enforcement.
When in human history was this ever not so? Wake up people. Behave.
When the citizens rights are
When the citizens rights are removed it is the citizens responsibility to revolt to restore the freedoms which matter most. I think that intelectual copyright is stupid.
Back in ancient times there were no "artists" or record companies. In fact it is record companies, software giants and massive media organizations leading the anti-piracy charge. These giants just don't realize that when a sound is recorded it is turned into data, that by its very nature is a creation, a hack of our reality and therefore open to exploitation. Every one knows that musicians get no money from record companies. Most artists earn from touring. Why are we all paying record companies and the like for nothing except a little publishing?!! Wake up and smell the seaweed! What a rip! I can't justify a producer on more than $80,000US a year!
Let piracy undercut the weak fools who try to make money from being in every ones face. Fools like Tom Cruise (don't even get me started on "Scientology") who earn how many million $$$ a film! And let PIRACY SUPPORT THE LOCAL ARTIST. Piracy can bring the giant media corporations down. The sooner the better.
PS I would be shocked to hear that the Prime Minister of NZ or Australia has not at some stage enjoyed some pirated material of some kind. Hypocritical people...
Chris
Adelaide, South Australia.
Um...this is not communist
Um...this is not communist Russia - nor is it a totalitarian government - oh wait - limiting freedoms - invading privacy - enforcing companies to breach these natural rights - maybe it is...??
Privacy is paramount to human existence - you strip that away from me and I'm coming for your jugular.
You don't fuck everyone up because a few people are misbehaving - it's the worst thing we do and fuckers like you keep promoting it cause you're some sort of weird freak dinosaur.
Deal with the shit and move forward. It's a new century - we don't have to do the same shit we used to. Internet was/is the branch to these freedoms - you strip that away and then we go backwards - up until this point, we've been moving in the right direction.
Peace.
I have an easy solution to
I have an easy solution to your new internet law... All you have to do is compile a list of the government officials who control the law and a list of executives for ISPs. Take the people on the list and file complaints against them. By law, they will all lost their internet connection. We'll see how long that lasts!
ISPs are damned if they do,
ISPs are damned if they do, and damned if they don't.
they're required to have a policy of disconnecting people under reasonable circumstances.
ISP has to decide if it's reasonable. They're now the judge.
If you send notice to an ISP that someone at the NZ tax department is infringing copyright on some photos you put on flickr -- it's up to the ISP to decide if your claim is reasonable, and bear the brunt of lawsuits when everyone disagrees.
brilliant idea. Someone you'r
brilliant idea. Someone you'r local MP's address and call up and say he's be downloading torrents. See what happens :)
Kiwis looking to stand up
Kiwis looking to stand up against this should get everyone they know to join the Facebook group against this. The larger the number the larger our voice,
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=29834002818
Yeah... Because _everyone_
Yeah... Because _everyone_ has a facebook account.
I could bitch about their policies all day, but that's for a different post...
you want to get rid of
you want to get rid of pedophiles? Pass a law that it is not illegal to kill a pedophile so long as you have overwhelming proof.
Locking down the internet will only make it harder to find them, and will likely result in many children being harmed since the sick fucks won't be able to get their jollies off to stuff they find on the net.
Stopping their ability to communicate and trade files WILL NOT STOP THEM FROM BEING PEDOPHILES! It will only make it that much harder to track them.
People are stupid. If the government can fuck them over any way they want to so long as they hold up a picture and say "Think of the children!!!" then thats precisely what the government will do.
New Zealanders... don't stand for it. You're a relatively small country. That means you should have less politicians to hang before they start to listen.
uh... "fewer
uh... "fewer politicians"
Think: "less water, fewer grains of sand" not "fewer water, less grains of sand."
Man, the education system on this planet sucks.
Unless of course you define
Unless of course you define 'politicians' as a single, gestalt entity...
laugh! ...count me in...
laugh!
...count me in...
Are you kidding me? The fact
Are you kidding me? The fact that Privacy is "a right not a privilege" means that governments do not have the right to violate it. At least not in supposedly "free societies". I would suggest reading a book called 1984. I fear that you are the one who needs to wake up. Because sooner or later you will. Whether it is now to oppose the creeping tendrils of a New World Order, or later, in your bed with boots on the floor and a flashlight in your face.
Did you even read this
Did you even read this article?
You wrote enough to have made a blog entrance.
This isn't even about people abusing each other, (which will continue to happen) it's about advertising, money and power. This is our last source of freedom and we have almost lost the very thing that makes it special.
@ Sam - I believe the issue
@ Sam - I believe the issue here is *not* that (some) people rip off copyrighted works, it's more basic than that. If you are -accused- of breaching copyright, you can effectively be removed from the Internet until you can prove your -innocence-
I feel bad for the people of
I feel bad for the people of New Zealand. I've been there on vacation. Beautiful place. But no ketchup. What's the deal with that?
But back to the topic, there has been a long history of Internet freedom and those who go against it. Here in the States certain people of the government have pushed to abolish network neutrality, a similar topic. But to actually force an ISP to do something like this is absurd. ISPs could just decide they don't like you calling into customer service so much and drop you off their network. Then, in defense, they can use this as their 'reasoning.' It's ridiculous.
I have no idea what I would do without the Internet and its inherit freedom. I am a junkie of the scene.
Just so you know, we do have
Just so you know, we do have ketchup in NZ
yeap, just like he said we do
yeap, just like he said we do have ketchup. I get frustrated with foreigners who think we don't have it simply because tomatoe sauce is more popular, or more generally that a set thing isn't here before they actually go and look for it....
anyway
As a resident of New Zealand
As a resident of New Zealand I can't say how disappointed I am. The NZ government would like us to think they won't bend to pressure from the US. Sure, they keep the nuclear subs out of NZ waters, but god forbid we use BT to download US tv shows that aren't available for viewing in NZ.
The fact the NZ is even considering joining ACTA shows that they are just as much in the pocket of big media as the US government. And if you want to find out the implications of such a treaty, look at the new laws passed recently in Canada - the right for border guards to search and seize any electronic equipment for an indefinite amount of time under suspicion of having "infringing" content. That means if you bring your iPod across the border, and they "think" that your 50 cent song may have come from an illegal source, they can seize and hold said iPod for as long as they see fit. Now imagine that it's your work laptop. And because you have trade secrets on your laptop, you have an encrypted directory. And because you're under contract to not reveal the contents of that directory to anyone, you refuse to decrypt it. Say goodbye to that laptop because you just might have the latest episode of Heroes in that directory. And that is a state emergency. Forget shoe bombs and AK47s. Today's terrorist threat comes in the form of .avi and .mp3 files.
And Thomas, next time you're in New Zealand, instead of asking for ketchup, ask for 'sauce'. Watties Tomato Sauce is made by Heinz, and is very similar to Heinze Ketchup (but not exact).
Laws like this will turn New
Laws like this will turn New Zealnd into a disconnected Prison colony for people who have committed no crime.
George Orwell had a name for this 'Thoughtcrime.' The capability of committing an offence without the physical act of committing an offence.
What have you not understood
What have you not understood Mr. Anonymous?
My site: MP3 Downloads
I find it "very" odd that
I find it "very" odd that citizens in the EU petitioned under their freedom of information law the contents of this treaty and were denied. What possible national security clause was built into a law against copyrights and digital piracy? Why hide that from the everyday people. That is what is troubling. People should be concerned about this in that no one is forth coming about its real intentions. ~Phil
Laws and attitudes like that
Laws and attitudes like that is only going to encourage terrorism with outrage at the respective governments trying to enforce it. I for one hope National get whats coming to them from the backlash this should create.
I think the best quote I have
I think the best quote I have heard so far was when some pro-section 92a person said "Why don't you buy CDs? Are you really that Cheap? Ripping off artists?"
The reply was "I work retail. I can't afford CDs"
The other point is, most artists (And I am one, so I've spoken to a few) just want their music to be heard. Hypothetically, I'd download a song, decide I really liked it, and then buy an album.
Also, for a maybe $22.00 album, the artists recieve maybe two dollars. All the rest is going to a music publishing industry. And I've worked in a music store, and I was getting paid nine bucks an hour (Before minimum wage went up). I sure as hell wasn't getting the extra twenty. It was all going to maybe, Sony records or whatever. Artists make money touring, and doing concerts, not selling CDs. Download a song, enjoy the band, SEE THEM LIVE. Then, the ARTISTS get money, NOT the money grubbing bastards who are REALLY ripping off artists.
you are really missing the
you are really missing the point.
The problem with the law is it's an accusation only. Lets say i was a "rights holder" (most people are) then I can just point at you and say "infringer!!" and get your internet connection taken away or your website gone. If i'm wrong, then you'll have to prove it, but until you do you'll be offline. And if you do prove it, there's no penalty to me for being mistaken.
Guilt upon accusation doesn't
Guilt upon accusation doesn't just affect internet access. Under S.92C (which relies on S.92A to be enacted) an ISP must delete or deny access to material as soon as possible after receiving an allegation of infringement, otherwise they break the law.
S.92C (4) states, "An Internet service provider who deletes a user’s material or prevents access to it because the Internet service provider knows or has reason to believe that it infringes copyright in a work must, as soon as possible, give notice to the user that the material has been deleted or access to it prevented."
In other words - deletion of content happens before the user is notified and unlike the DCMA there is no requirement to restore the content if the allegation is proved false.
ISP's can, of course, decide to handle notices differently but there is no requirement for them to do so.
To date, the focus of attention has been on ISP's who provide Net access. Hosting companies are also ISP's under this law so anyone who uses NZ servers should be very, very worried. If libraries, for example, use external hosting companies they could very easily find their content deleted without prior notice.
Welcome to the brave new world Mr Orwell!
(No subject)
You're right about internet
You're right about internet freedom, I suppose torrent websites and other P2P websites are still making money, if you're using a private tracker, how can they track you? That's my main question.
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