In Wake Of SOPA Defeat and Rising Profits, IFPI Calls For 'SOPA Plus' Migraine Tablet

[qubit]

Yes, that's right, SOPA might have been set back for now, but the vested interests from the big media corporations (music/movies/news etc) that want it implemented unsurprisingly aren't sitting idle and are pushing for ever more draconian measures aka 'SOPA Plus'. A digital music report (PDF) asks for everything that was in the original SOPA and then some, with a wishlist of seven 'fixes':

1. Three strikes schemes aka 'graduated response'. Users identified (in what reliable way?) as repeat infringers, will get three warning notices from their ISP and then be cut off from the internet. Presumably, this will include a blacklist, so that they can't sign up for any other ISP either
2. Site blocking. At the media industry say-so, any website on the planet can be blocked over mere allegations of piracy. An example of this already happening is www.newzbin.com, which is now blocked by British Telecom in the UK after being ordered to do so by the court. Attempting to view it now simply shows "Error – site blocked". Nice. BT can't even be bothered to show a template web page explaining the circumstances of this censorship. The report claims: "Site blocking is effective in dealing with the various new forms of infringement such as cyberlockers and websites. However, an approach based exclusively on website blocking is insufficient by itself, given the importance of major P2P services that are decentralised and therefore not covered by blocking"
3. Search engines "need help". It's not enough that search engines like Google remove links to infringing content in order to stay on the right side of the DMCA, but now need to prioritize their links too according to the legality of the content: "A basic measure such as this would help consumers not only avoid viruses and malware, but also being directed unwittingly towards content piracy."
4. Payment processors should cut off pirates voluntarily. The idea is to have companies like MasterCard and Visa unilaterally take action against infringing websites and stop payments from reaching them. In return, they get immunity from prosecution by the content industry by doing so
5. Advertising networks cut off funds to pirate sites by stopping business with them, or they will get sued too
6. Mobile operators are not exempt. 'Piracy' happens over mobile phones, laptops with wireless connections, iPads etc as well as the traditional wired internet connection. Therefore, mobile operators are expected to perform similar duties as their wired counterparts
7. Keep suing the big sites. The report claims that litigation has played its part in the US recovery, pointing to the closure of Limewire. It claims that P2P piracy fell from 16% in the fourth quarter of 2007, to 9% in the fourth quarter of 2010 when Limewire stopped operating.

On top of this, they insist that players not cherry pick which measures they will implement, but insist that every player implement every measure. One would think that such drastic measures would be needed, because the industry was spiralling downwards into an abyss of lost profits and bankruptcy. However, nothing could be further from the truth, they simply ignore the various independent studies that show piracy to have a negligible effect on sales and to even spur growth in some cases. Instead, they claim that their profits would be even bigger without piracy, as IFPI CEO Frances Moore said:

"With a healthy 8 per cent increase in our digital revenues in 2011—the first time the annual growth rate has risen since records began in 2004—some might feel tempted to say that a troubled era for the music industry is coming to an end. Such complacency now, however, would be a great mistake. The truth is that record companies are building a successful digital music business in spite of the environment in which they operate, not because of it."

No, the truth is that these big media corporations are greedy and corrupt, along with their sock puppet governments that they control, as MPAA CEO, Chris Dodd recently demonstrated in arrogant and graphic detail when he said on Fox News:

"Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake."

This has caused quite a stir and unsurprisingly, news about this went viral. Now, a White House petition has been set up to investigate him and the MPAA for bribery and corruption. The petition can be accessed here.

The graphic shows the distribution of legal services, according to IFPI.

There's more analysis on this story over at Ars Technica.

[qubit]

Thanks to _JP_ for the tip.

[to6ko91]

[FordGT90Concept]

Originally Posted by qubit

Keep suing the big sites. The report claims that litigation has played its part in the US recovery, pointing to the closure of Limewire. It claims that P2P piracy fell from 16% in the fourth quarter of 2007, to 9% in the fourth quarter of 2010 when Limewire stopped operating.

I blame a lack of content worth pirating.

Originally Posted by qubit

On top of this, they insist that players not cherry pick which measures they will implement, but insist that every player implement every measure.

Triprift posted this on General Nonsense explaining why that's exactly what they want:

Basically, they want to make operating on the internet cost-prohibitive so only websites with an army of lawyers can function.

Originally Posted by qubit

This has caused quite a stir and unsurprisingly, news about this went viral. Now, a White House petition has been set up to investigate him and the MPAA for bribery and corruption. The petition can be accessed here.

Signed. He's at the heart of this shit storm so the faster and harder he goes down, the sooner this blatant attack on the Constitution ends (freedom of speech, press, and peacably assemble; policing private property without a warrant nor consent).

[TheMailMan78]

Not gonna matter. Its gonna pass. SOMETHING is gonna pass.

[FordGT90Concept]

Not if we, the people, make it painful to try (no reelection support) and deadly to succeed (drop kicked out of office).


Edit: I'd like to remind everyone that Vice President and President of the Senate Joe Biden was the primary sponsor (introduced the bill in the Senate) for the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998.

[TheMailMan78]

Originally Posted by FordGT90Concept

Not if we, the people, make it painful to try (no reelection support) and deadly to succeed (drop kicked out of office).

No we will keep playing Red vs Blue and vote for the best bedtime story. We "the people" have proven we dont know WTF is going on for 100 years almost. Relax Ford. Enjoy the show.

[qubit]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Not gonna matter. Its gonna pass. SOMETHING is gonna pass.

Originally Posted by FordGT90Concept

Not if we, the people, make it painful to try (no reelection support) and deadly to succeed (drop kicked out of office).

Well, as I've just said to JP on my visitors messages:

It certainly looks like they've got various versions of this legislation on the go, so that as soon as one gets knocked down, they'll introduce another one.

I reckon it's gonna keep going like this ad infinitum until they either get it passed, or they become mired in corruption scandals, like that MPAA guy. In fact, with a bit of luck, that will be the catalyst to start just such a scandal...

So, I'm with Ford here and don't hold such a pessimistic view on this.

I'll bet I know why BT don't explain the reason for the Newzbin censorship: keep the plebs in the dark and there won't be any repercussions over it. In fact, it wouldn't even surprise me if they were ordered by the court to give out as little information as possible in the block message.

[TheMailMan78]

Originally Posted by qubit

Well, as I've just said to JP on my visitors messages:

So, I'm with Ford here and don't hold such a pessimistic view on this.

I'll bet I know why BT don't explain the reason for the Newzbin censorship: keep the plebs in the dark and there won't be any repercussions over it. In fact, it wouldn't even surprise me if they were ordered by the court to give out as little information as possible in the block message.

Pessimistic? No I've seen how this story ends. Its not the first time a government has shut down the press. I no longer subscribe to the belief my vote matters. I just do it now to get out of work early. 100+ years of voting history since the civil war is the only record you need to be aware of Qubit. SOPA or something like it is gonna happen. No matter how much you kick and scream. Its gonna happen.

You see Fords "Edit"

I'd like to remind everyone that Vice President and President of the Senate Joe Biden was the primary sponsor (introduced the bill in the Senate) for the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998.

Thats American Red vs Blue bulls@#t. My teams better then yours. Its why SOPA will be passed and there is nothing you can do about it.

[qubit]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Pessimistic? No I've seen how this story ends. Its not the first time a government has shut down the press. I longer subscribe to the belief my vote matters. I just do it now to get out of work early. 100+ years of voting history since the civil war is the only record you need to be aware of Qubit. SOPA or something like it is gonna happen. No matter how much you kick and scream. Its gonna happen.

Look, you might well be right. In the end, it's the classic "time will tell" on this one. In fact, I'm not really surprised at all that they are going down this route. It occurred to me years ago that this is the sort of thing needed to get the internet the way they want it.

On this topic, so many people on so many comments and forums have said that once the genie is out of the bottle it can't be put back (file sharing) but I always figured it could with enough fincancial mussle and political will - heck these media cartels can own countries. This is it, happening right now. We might 'win', but it's gonna be a bloody battle and I tend to agree with you that the internet is likely to remain a more restricted place than it is now, with many innovative services not even launching. Such a bloody, f* shame.

[m4gicfour]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Thats American Red vs Blue bulls@#t. My teams better then yours. Its why SOPA will be passed and there is nothing you can do about it.

Ahh... the two party system. GENIUSSSSSS

[FordGT90Concept]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Pessimistic? No I've seen how this story ends. Its not the first time a government has shut down the press. I no longer subscribe to the belief my vote matters. I just do it now to get out of work early. 100+ years of voting history since the civil war is the only record you need to be aware of Qubit. SOPA or something like it is gonna happen. No matter how much you kick and scream. Its gonna happen.

There's corporations on both sides of this fight--the biggest of which oppose internet censorship. This war is occuring on all fronts with a grass roots movement of people not being quiet as well as lobbies pushing back because they require the internet to function. I firmly believe this is a fight we can win as long as we can effectively focus the attention on all the bad pieces of legislation and make it clear what will happen if they support them.

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Thats American Red vs Blue bulls@#t. My teams better then yours. Its why SOPA will be passed and there is nothing you can do about it.

No, this isn't "red vs blue bullshit." It's more like green (authoritarian/corportocracy) vs yellow (liberitarian/democracy). About half of Republicans and half of Democrats support these legislation and about half oppose. I firmly believe that the longer this carries on and the more the "plebs" learn of what these mean for them, the stronger the resistance will be against it.

Just look at what was managed so far: they expected to pass these things effortless. Now they have huge corporations saying "no" and their stumbling. Instead of listening to the people, they reiterate an even more damaging SOPA than the original driving the discussion away from their favor. They are not making friends and that means they're losing votes and this can be seen in calls for their front man (Chris Dodd) to undergo a criminal investigation.

[TheMailMan78]

Originally Posted by qubit

Look, you might well be right. In the end, it's the classic "time will tell" on this one. In fact, I'm not really surprised at all that they are going down this route. It occurred to me years ago that this is the sort of thing needed to get the internet the way they want it.

On this topic, so many people on so many comments and forums have said that once the genie is out of the bottle it can't be put back (file sharing) but I always figured it could with enough fincancial mussle and political will - heck these media cartels can own countries. This is it, happening right now. We might 'win', but it's gonna be a bloody battle and I tend to agree with you that the internet is likely to remain a more restricted place than it is now, with many innovative services not even launching. Such a bloody, f* shame.

Like I said Bills like the NDAA and the latest one the Enemy Expatriation Act H.R. 3166 makes SOPA seem like a dream. No one even cares. Yet we keep beating the SOPA horse to death. Why? None of it will matter when they kick in your door.

[Steven B]

awww qubit you are are purple now!

[Horrux]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Not gonna matter. Its gonna pass. SOMETHING is gonna pass.

Yep it will, no matter what. Because the governments are now tools of the corporations.

Look at NDAA. Which American citizen WANTS such a bill? It passed, if only on december 31 at night...

[etayorius]

Its not over yet, if you though SOPA and PIPA were evil... wait till you read about ACTA and OPEN, they just wont give up... they must destroy the Internet and fast, people are waking up.

[KainXS]

as much as I hate to say it there is so much money in these damn bills something will pass mailman be right this time, something will pass or they will stick in another damn bill like they did before.

dosen't really matter what the people say, our government has shown this before

[Horrux]

Originally Posted by KainXS

as much as I hate to say it there is so much money in these damn bills something will pass mailman be right this time, something will pass or they will stick in another damn bill like they did before.

dosen't really matter what the people say, our government has shown this before

And that means *ANY* version of said government.

Except maybe one led by Ron Paul, the only true hope for the USA and the world.

[etayorius]

Ron Paul may just be the last chance the US has to straighten itself...

Support Ron Paul in the primaries, or be ready to say good bye to freedom... also there will be an economic depression 10x worst than the 30s.

END THE FED, they think they can just print more money indefinetly, just wait till the US Dollar stops being the world currency, anyone recalls Russia/China are asking for a new currency? then all that printed money will be nothing... go back to a Gold Standard of be ready to take it in the ass for the next 30 years.
Your only hope is Ron Paul, support him in the primaries.

First it was SOPA and PIPA, now we must fight against OPEN and ACTA, or the whole Internet is fked.

[Trackr]

The problem is that these people think they are entitled.

Look at their legislature - a 3 strikes system. It's so clear that they think they own all media.

And they do. Legally, they have precedent.

The problem is that they aren't able to prosecute offenders because the internet makes it too difficult to find them.

So, unless the laws change, they will eventually find a way to get what they want - which is to limit freedom so that they can prosecute their offenders.

As long as those people are considered offenders, the MPAA will eventually win.

The only hope is to make it illegal for a corporation to come up with laws, or to change the constitution to say that the internet cannot be touched.

Then, and only then, will the media companies HAVE to adhere to us and will begin to offer products that will make piracy less necessary.

Or they'll win and the internet will die as we know it.

[Fx]

Originally Posted by FordGT90Concept

There's corporations on both sides of this fight--the biggest of which oppose internet censorship. This war is occuring on all fronts with a grass roots movement of people not being quiet as well as lobbies pushing back because they require the internet to function. I firmly believe this is a fight we can win as long as we can effectively focus the attention on all the bad pieces of legislation and make it clear what will happen if they support them.



No, this isn't "red vs blue bullshit." It's more like green (authoritarian/corportocracy) vs yellow (liberitarian/democracy). About half of Republicans and half of Democrats support these legislation and about half oppose. I firmly believe that the longer this carries on and the more the "plebs" learn of what these mean for them, the stronger the resistance will be against it.

Just look at what was managed so far: they expected to pass these things effortless. Now they have huge corporations saying "no" and their stumbling. Instead of listening to the people, they reiterate an even more damaging SOPA than the original driving the discussion away from their favor. They are not making friends and that means they're losing votes and this can be seen in calls for their front man (Chris Dodd) to undergo a criminal investigation.

thats right Ford. having a defeatist attitude never accomplished anything except having yourself to blame for being a part of a solution that you didnt want

this is nothing short of censorship. this is a war of ideas & information. people around the world are starting to gain ground and the governments realize this. dont be fooled about the whole piracy spiel. there are many recent examples of them having little difficulty in cracking down on "violators/pirates" as they already have many tools and angles at their disposal

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

I for one will not stand for this kind of bullsh1t, I have called my congressmen, one of the few who was against it from the begining. . ..

[wahdangun]

what the hell happen to you america ??? you are starting to become china 2.0 in the west.

[qubit]

Originally Posted by wahdangun

what the hell happen to you america ??? you are starting to become china 2.0 in the west.

Sh*t, no kidding. There was a Techdirt article a while back making just this point. There was someone from the RIAA/MPAA I think it was, who openly said that if censorship works for China then why shouldn't it work for the West. Yes, you heard that right. No wonder it looks like this to you.

If I can find that article, I'll link to it here.

[lucifersama]

"Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake."

at least.... he was an honest politician?!
then he went on how sites abused the power they have to fight legislators.... am i going nuts or is there some kind of contradiction between the above quoted and his later claim? cuz i would think the media is abusing its power of legislators too...... right?!!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!

why does the media want to get these laws in order, simple, to take away the ability to get their stuff for free so there MIGHT be a slight increase in profits (slight is reasonable, anything beyond that is just blatant craziness with the world economy as it is now), but lets not fool our selves, would that slight increase in profit warrant all that? or the ability to sue others like "other" companies do now and get fat faaaat profit?

i honestly dont remember the last time i downloaded a new song... old yes, but new? hell no, checking some on youtube but that is as far as i will go, they are not worth it, gaming.... going mmorpg now, and old ones only, movies... too disappointed to go to cinema and even when i download them for free, i watch them while multitasking... honest /sigh at what is supposed to be entertainment nowadays.