SOPA and PIPA protests highlight 21st c. internet stakes

Wikipedia protest hits home: U.S. senators withdraw support for anti-piracy bills as 4.5 million sign petition

Long article at Daily Mail link above, with explanatory SOPA and PIPA sidebar; will just copy its bullet points:

• Wikipedia back online at 5am today after 24 hour blackout
• 18 senators withdraw support for controversial bills
• Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg opposes censorship law
• And says internet is 'powerful tool for creating open and connected world'
• 7,000 sites across the net joined protest
• Founder Jimmy Wales calls the strike an 'extraordinary action'
• Hollywood movie moguls stop donations for Obama re-election campaign
• Studio chiefs' move in protest against his 'lack of support' for the two bills
• Twitter exposes 'morons' who didn't know why Wikipedia was shut down

Click to expand...

wfgodot, I hope you don't mind me adding a new related link instead of starting a thread, since subjects are similar.....

Popular file-sharing website Megaupload shut down

http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...ass&action=8&lang=en&_LT=UNLC_USNWU00L8_UNEWS

McLEAN, Va. (AP) — One of the world's most popular file-sharing sites was shut down Thursday, and its founder and several company officials were accused of facilitating millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content.

A federal indictment accused Megaupload.com of costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue. The indictment was unsealed one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to make it easier for authorities to go after sites with pirated material, especially those with overseas headquarters and servers.
------

Megaupload is based in Hong Kong, but some of the alleged pirated content was hosted on leased servers in Ashburn, Va., which gave federal authorities jurisdiction, the indictment said.

The Justice Department said in a statement said that Kim Dotcom, 37, and three other employees were arrested Thursday in New Zealand at the request of U.S. officials. Three other defendants are at large.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which defends free speech and digital rights online, said in a statement that, "This kind of application of international criminal procedures to Internet policy issues sets a terrifying precedent. If the United States can seize a Dutch citizen in New Zealand over a copyright claim, what is next?"


More at link....

Reader said:

wfgodot, I hope you don't mind me adding a new related link instead of starting a thread, since subjects are similar.....

Click to expand...

Not at all. A bit surprised there's not been interest here in the subject, as the issue may affect in time everything we've come to love about the internet.

SOPA's dead (for NOW) as Rep. Lamar Smith (was that jackass really my congressman for several years??) withdrew his House bill.

SOPA Is Dead: Smith Pulls Bill (mashable.com)

I know, I would have thought the same thing as we here at WS certainly love the internet.

I think that its Casey Anthony's fault.

Maybe more will trickle in, there's still time to write their representatives. It is really awesome how much was accomplished with the blackout... there are times when I am amazed at the power of the internet.

The issue won't go away; too much money's at stake.