US Senate Holds Hearings on Great Firewall Of America

[btarunr]

Today, the United States Congress will hold hearings of an internet censorship system for America. That's right, "Land of the Free" gets a Great Firewall of its own, which is proposed to be practically as empowered as the one People's Republic of China uses, only that it threatens to have wider reaching consequences on areas such as freedom of speech, freedom of information (by that we're not endorsing piracy), and the integrity of the DNS system.




The original idea behind this bill is to curb piracy of digital information, be it content or proprietary software, but is peppered with loopholes that allow the US government to practically censor any content it wants, and for bigger internet-enabled companies to cripple new startups. Social media sites that have traces of copyrighted content can be blocked overnight, if they are found to be serving as rally points for protestors in the future. Just think about it. Lets say a group sets up a social media site as a rally point for its protests. What will the detractors of that group have to do? Simple - post copyrighted content on that particular social media site, and make the copyright holders appeal for punitive action against that site. In the whole process, webmasters will be made policemen of social content on their site, because they will be made liable.

What does this mean for the rest of the world? It's simple - America is the gold standard for freedom and liberty. The moment the US passes such a legislation, other free societies around the world will be inclined to pass similar legislations, for the sheer amount of power it dispenses to the governments. Learn more here.

[jasper1605]

Welcome to the United Socialist States of America or in short the USSA.

This can only spell bad news for the U.S. on scales much larger than technology.

[xkche]

zeitgeist???

[D4S4]

there goes the neighborhood....

[mstenholm]

The poll is still open....

[NdMk2o1o]

Won't be long before the same happens in the UK as already after BT was forced to block Newzbin earlier this year there are talks about them being forced to do the same to TPB, but how long before it's not just P2P sites but sites that are "deemed" inappropriatte? it's censorship at it's worst and it's dangerous ground.

[FordGT90Concept]

http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/protectip_docs

I sent letters to my Congressmen on this subject not too long ago. Unfortunately, neither were inclined to defend the 1st amendment but they didn't outright say they support it either. If they don't say no to this, they're oppsing the will of the American people. Instead, they step in line with the corporations they don't care about individual rights--only money.

[RejZoR]

Apparently Europe will remain the only land of the free. As far as you can say it that way...

[3volvedcombat]

this is fucking crazy.

Shame on america.

I just watched a commercial about "clean coal".

Double shame on america, where does or how does coal even become clean, and why the fuck is everything twisting so badly in the states.

I'm moving soon.

[FordGT90Concept]

The coal is processed to have lower emissions and then the power plant itself has exhaust scrubbers which further reduce emissions.

[gbird]

Originally Posted by 3volvedcombat

this is fucking crazy.

Shame on america.

I just watched a commercial about "clean coal".

Double shame on america, where does or how does coal even become clean, and why the fuck is everything twisting so badly in the states.

I'm moving soon.

This is no surprise, the end is near. All of whats happening is in the Bible. It does not matter where you move too it will be there in a short while too. The New World Order.

[Easy Rhino]

who wrote this bill? vote him or her out of office please.

[jmcslob]

I think if I post what I really wanna post I'd be visited by the FBI....

So I'll just say that if this passes and becomes Law and The Supreme Court upholds it then.....I can't post that either hmmm...Seems they may have already started censoring since if I do post what I want I'd likely go to jail...

So let me put it like this...
People
Streets
Guns
Rich
Death
Destruction
Congress
Senate
End
NEW Government

[CyberDruid]

The internet was never meant to be for freedom or for the general public...it just sort of happened.

Frankly I am amazed it has been left alone this long. Public policy is set by control freaks that have an elite mindset. They know what's best for us. We are just mindless cattle-consumers.

[Drone]

How disappointing but however I hope that all the sane citizens will vote all the idiots off. And not only in the USA but all over the world. This era is getting really pathetic and tragic. Everyone can be tracked, privacy is no more, censorship is growing, retarded organizations shoving their crap, patent trolls and so on. People getting either too dumb or too paranoid, and this happens now, in the age when intelligence, democracy and technology should rise.

[Nosada]

Originally Posted by RejZoR

Apparently Europe will remain the only land of the free. As far as you can say it that way...

Slovenia perhaps, The PirateBay was recently explicitly banned in Belgium. It's a simple DNS-block by the countries two largest ISP's, but I'm still disgusted by the fact that a "law" like that was drafted (by RIAA's belgian equivalent) and ratified.

Censorship is a slippery slope for any government. It starts with "morally objectionable content" and ends in everything that disagrees with the viewpoints of "the party".

[FordGT90Concept]

Originally Posted by Easy Rhino

who wrote this bill? vote him or her out of office please.

COICO Act
Sponsor: Senator Patrick Leahy [D-VT]
Co-Sponsors:

• Lamar Alexander [R-TN]
• Evan Bayh [D-IN]
• Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]
• Thomas Coburn [R-OK]
• Richard Durbin [D-IL]
• Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]
• Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]
• Lindsey Graham [R-SC]
• Charles Grassley [R-IA]
• Orrin Hatch [R-UT]
• James Inhofe [R-OK]
• Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
• Herbert Kohl [D-WI]
• Claire McCaskill [D-MO]
• Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]
• Charles Schumer [D-NY]
• Arlen Specter [D-PA]
• George Voinovich [R-OH]
• Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]

PROTECT IP Act
Sponsor: Senator Patrick Leahy [D-VT]
Co-Sponsors:

• Lamar Alexander [R-TN]
• Kelly Ayotte [R-NH]
• Michael Bennet [D-CO]
• Jeff Bingaman [D-NM]
• Richard Blumenthal [D-CT]
• Roy Blunt [R-MO]
• John Boozman [R-AR]
• Sherrod Brown [D-OH]
• Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]
• Robert Casey [D-PA]
• Saxby Chambliss [R-GA]
• Thad Cochran [R-MS]
• Chris Coons [D-DE]
• Bob Corker [R-TN]
• Richard Durbin [D-IL]
• Michael Enzi [R-WY]
• Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]
• Al Franken [D-MN]
• Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]
• Lindsey Graham [R-SC]
• Charles Grassley [R-IA]
• Kay Hagan [D-NC]
• Orrin Hatch [R-UT]
• John Isakson [R-GA]
• Tim Johnson [D-SD]
• Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
• Herbert Kohl [D-WI]
• Mary Landrieu [D-LA]
• Joseph Lieberman [I-CT]
• John McCain [R-AZ]
• Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]
• Bill Nelson [D-FL]
• James Risch [R-ID]
• Marco Rubio [R-FL]
• Charles Schumer [D-NY]
• Jeanne Shaheen [D-NH]
• Tom Udall [D-NM]
• David Vitter [R-LA]
• Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]
• Jerry Moran [R-KS] (withdrawn)

I'm pretty sure I contacted Charles Grassley on this before. Looks like I'm going to have to do it again but this time, tell him clear and concise he will not be getting my vote, nor the vote of those I know, if he continues to support this anti-American, anti-1st Amendment law.

Edit: If you want me to link up all those names so you can click on them to get to their official senator website where you can contact them, let me know.

[Shihabyooo]

Pircay ? Oh please cut the crap. You just want to give WikiLeaks a nut kick. all this piracy talk is just to please the copyright corporate bastards.
I'm not an American, but that move will surely affect the rest of the world !

Originally Posted by FordGT90Concept

/List/

Oh cheers mate ! Lemme give dear ol' Al Zwahiri a call..

[WarraWarra]

This is not bad there is a law about to be passed that states more or less, if you came within arms length of a pc or forgot to add your correct location to facebook "location that is not available to add" then you are a hacker and they can seize your property and lock you up for 1+ years. Did not bother to read it.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/73768.html
http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/lying-on-the-internet-could-soon-be-a-federal-crime/
http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/15/2564768/DOJ-ruling-Computer-Fraud-Abuse-Act

LOL so why do you guys think there is opencl / webcl / webgl for you as a users convenience LMAO, it is for Gov. / hackers to trojan load and run crap in firefox or for the Gov. to spy on you using your own pc just like EA's origin.exe does.
That is why 2006 TLS1.1/1.2 is still missing from firefox, it f's up webcl spying.

Same as iTunes cloud does, scan your pc for music WTF for $25 service fee ??
If iTunes on the Apple/win pc does not already know what music you have then how would it know by scanning your pc ???

Thank god I was lucky enough to have escaped from the USA, not sure what others would do in the future to escape as Mexico will close the north border and Canada will do the same.

[D4S4]

right now i am thankful that croats are uneducated idiots and tools for the most part, everything about the internet here is run obviously by people who actually know how to use a computer and those people are considered nerds in these parts because they actually use their brains instead of constantly electing a government that rapes them, their parents and their children while laughing in their face, literally.

so, there's no way this sort of bs can pass here.

btw: http://www.croatiantimes.com/news/Ge..._attack_on_HDZ

if only they could hack those asswipes bank accounts and transfer funds equally to every croatian citizen we'd all be fucking rich!

[Easy Rhino]

a democrat from vermont. what a f*cking surprise.

[FordGT90Concept]

I just sent this email to Grassley:

Originally Posted by Me

I'm fairly certain I contacted you previously in regards to your support of the COICO Act (S. 3804). I may have contacted you again in regards to your support of the PROTECT IP Act (S. 968). In any event, I am compelled to contact you again in regards to your continued co-sponsorship of the PROTECT IP Act.

The Internet is a form of media (press) that is protected under the first amendment rights. Everything on it is published by an individual without exception. It doesn't matter if any individual disagrees with someone says or does on the Internet, access to the infrastructure itself is protected by the Constitution. To deny access to any or all of the Internet on any basis is to go against the fabric that has established America as a free nation.

Passing the PROTECT IP Act will have repercussions around the world. We are following in the footsteps of China (that pains me to say) and Australia. Many nations in Europe around the world will follow in our footsteps. Good things, like people seeing atrocities committed via the Internet which have sparked revolutions such as the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street would have been impossible without the Internet.

Yes, I know this law is only supposed to "protect" intellectual property owners but they're already protected under international copyright laws. This law is completely unnecessary and does far more harm than good. It gives the federal government way too much authority in a field it should have none. It is the equivalent of taking away the 1st amendment right where it (or anyone) feels inclined to.

What is going to stop CNN, MSNBC, FoxNews, Politico, DailyBeast, and other news organizations from being labeled as an "Internet site dedicated to infringing activities?" It is giving the authority of anyone to attack their respective domain names in order to shut their web operations down. We don't need nor want this because violations of copyrights are already enforced on virtually all professionally-ran websites. A prime example being YouTube. YouTube has removed hundreds of thousands of videos from their services due to copyright complaints. It is an uneventful transaction that is dealt with quickly and concisely. Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/aft...ve-video-clips

The law is effectively asking corporations to police the Internet and we've already seen this demonstrated in Wikipedia. Several corporations modified their related pages on Wikipedia in order to twist history in their favor. It is spinning in the 21st century. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/te...1.7167084.html

In short: this has "bad" written all over it. It is bad for America, bad for Americans, and bad for the world at large. If you continue to cosponsor this legislation, I cannot vote for you again. I will also bring this issue to light with all my fellow Iowans and implore them not to support your reelection campaign as well. Yes, I know that isn't until 2016 and yes, I know you might not run for reelection but, I can't rewrite history--only learn from it. I trusted you with this issue and you have betrayed my trust.

[cheesy999]

EDIT:Appears to of offended d007, so i deleted it, never meant to cause offense to anyone

How much potential for misuse does this actually have anyway? it would seem to me that it would generate quite a few problems for the politicians if someone were to misuse it

[D007]

Well I hope people like looking down the barrel of a sniper rifle.. This brings me one step closer to condoning all out civil war.
Edited

[blibba]

Originally Posted by jasper1605

Welcome to the United Socialist States of America or in short the USSA.

This can only spell bad news for the U.S. on scales much larger than technology.

Actually, most socialists are very much against copyright, patenting and the like. It's much more of a capitalist thing. Not that that makes it acceptable (if anything, is the opposite true?).