How SOPA (as written) might kill ATS and free speech online (UPDATED)

Let me be clear,
SOPA is the most dangerous threat to free speech ever proposed by the US government.
That's what I think.

....................................................................

agreed.

I hope you guys (ATS Owners) have something in place.

A lot of stuff going down on the interwebz right now and a lot of discussions taking place on ATS right now about "work arounds" and "take downs" and stuff could well land you in trouble.

Looks like this is all kicking off early...


I hope you guys ( I know you will) will be OK

Hey guys WRC559 here. ID like to bring you 2 yes TWO updates.

The first one is, SOPA has been killed.. Well for now. You can view the article at
How The Web Killed SOPA and PIPA – For Now.

Leaders in Congress on Friday effectively killed two pieces of anti-online piracy legislation following the increasingly vocal protests of tens of thousands of websites and millions of Internet users. That’s right, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the PROTECT IP Act [...]

Read The Article Above


Below WE Have.

The Great Internet Wars Have Begun

It also crucial that it be about resistance against an all-out effort by the elite and their technocrats to turn the internet into an all-encompassing panopticon surveillance and control grid. Contrary to common belief, the internet was not built to be a networked computer system designed to withstand a nuclear war, but as a surveillance and control grid. It was not happenstance that the platform found its way into public use.

Read The Article In Full Above.


Now while one bill may have been killed - I believe its only temporary. How can it possibly be that they have been planning this for many years just to throw it out. Unlikely. The controling elite will pass this or similar bill in the house and get control over the internet... If you let your guard down, So dont forget this. Stay strong and protest any move we can that might signal the end of our internet freedom. Its time to get angry.

All the best from

WRC559

Originally posted by blupblup
I hope you guys (ATS Owners) have something in place.

Well they are working on it Its deep underground beneath Langley in one of the old WWII unused tunnels



Few bugs to work out yet but hey...

Oh wait... was that a secret?

Fail Safety

Originally posted by zorgon
Oh wait... was that a secret?

Actually, that's a photo of the current ATS Data Center. Considering the facility is guarded by armed dobermans, sharks with laser beams attached to their heads and ill-tempered mutated sea bass, I'm not going to ask how you got that picture.

As for a fallback hosting option, that has been deployed in a secure, undisclosed location on Bill's laptop, but you didn't hear that from me.

reply to post by zorgon




LOL

Z... you let the cat outta the bag mate :shk:

Hi everyone!

A big hurrah to you!!!!! We’ve won for now -- SOPA and PIPA were dropped by Congress today -- the votes we’ve been scrambling to mobilize against have been cancelled.

The largest online protest in history has fundamentally changed the game. You were heard.

On January 18th, 13 million of us took the time to tell Congress to protect free speech rights on the internet. Hundreds of millions, maybe a billion, people all around the world saw what we did on Wednesday. See the amazing numbers here and tell everyone what you did.

This was unprecedented. Your activism may have changed the way people fight for the public interest and basic rights forever.


The MPAA (the lobby for big movie studios which created these terrible bills) was shocked and seemingly humbled. “‘This was a whole new different game all of a sudden,’ MPAA Chairman and former Senator Chris Dodd told the New York Times. ‘[PIPA and SOPA were] considered by many to be a slam dunk.’”

“'This is altogether a new effect,' Mr. Dodd said, comparing the online movement to the Arab Spring. He could not remember seeing 'an effort that was moving with this degree of support change this dramatically' in the last four decades, he added."

Shout on the internet with us, let's celebrate: Round of applause to the 13 million people who stood up - #PIPA and #SOPA are tabled 4 now. #13millionapplause

So I was watching the TV and now the SOPA organizers are putting commercials out there to try to sway people to not object to SOPA.

So, now the people with the *money* are putting commercials on TV to tell people that the internet sites they went to must not be right and SOPA is a good thing.

This whole mess is just sickening.

IWOH

Bad Inc

reply to post by IwasOnceHappy

At least now they're bothering to try to sway public opinion instead of quietly bypassing it. With so many legislators abandoning ship, they don't have much of a choice now.

Which is rather encouraging. It means maybe it really does take more than marching into a congressman's office with a suitcase full of money to get laws passed these days. Or at least unpopular laws. Maybe.

The problem with a TV publicity blitz is that it will probably reach mostly people who hadn't heard about SOPA or didn't care, and thus not stir up much in the way of public support no matter how much ad time they buy.

Meanwhile, people who already oppose SOPA will only be reminded it's not really dead, and be energized by such ads to take further action to put even more pressure on legislators to stop it.

Either way, the outlook isn't very promising for the industry moguls. Of course they may try to sneak it in attached to other bills, and while those sorts of antics might work in the background of public apathy, they are a big, big gamble when used to push through unpopular legislation in an election year.

The SOPA opera is far from over, but if the elite interests (who normally don't give a damn about popular opinion, as evidenced by their own comments) are reduced to something as degrading and distasteful as actually having to appeal to the unwashed masses, then the protests are definitely having an effect.

They can try to bite the Internet, but it's clear now that the Internet can bite back. Painfully.

Good.

Originally posted by Majic
Bad Inc

reply to post by IwasOnceHappy

 

At least now they're bothering to try to sway public opinion instead of quietly bypassing it. With so many legislators abandoning ship, they don't have much of a choice now.

I agree.

The problem with a TV publicity blitz is that it will probably reach mostly people who hadn't heard about SOPA or didn't care, and thus not stir up much in the way of public support no matter how much ad time they buy.

I only saw an out take of one of the commercials. The part that disgusts me is that many, many, people out there do not have internet and/or do not follow what is going on. They start seeing the commercials like these and if repeated enough, it gets into their head. I guess I am more worried about the seniors out there that may just blindly watch the commercials and believe them as they never go online. This is only my opinion.

Meanwhile, people who already oppose SOPA will only be reminded it's not really dead, and be energized by such ads to take further action to put even more pressure on legislators to stop it.

I so much agree with this. I guess, this is why I added to this conversation as I saw what is now happening and it just makes me shake my head.

Either way, the outlook isn't very promising for the industry moguls. Of course they may try to sneak it in attached to other bills, and while those sorts of antics might work in the background of public apathy, they are a big, big gamble when used to push through unpopular legislation in an election year.

What worries me here is the next spending bill. If it goes through so quickly because so many do not want the government to shut down, what if it gets tacked on to it. It is not like they have not attached other items to them in the past.

The SOPA opera is far from over, but if the elite interests (who normally don't give a damn about popular opinion, as evidenced by their own comments) are reduced to something as degrading and distasteful as actually having to appeal to the unwashed masses, then the protests are definitely having an effect.

Good.

I agree, and to use an outdated term, wootage.

IWOH

SOPA will NOT happen. Get over this people. It WONT happen.

Originally posted by amongus
SOPA will NOT happen. Get over this people. It WONT happen.

US already able to shut websites
Internet protest was silent in 2008

Google, Wikipedia, and the millions of Americans who joined last week’s protest against giving government new authority over the Internet may have missed something: Federal agencies already have that kind of power, at least over websites registered in the US. Under a 2008 law, federal authorities can seize the assets of a company charged with copyright violations. The US Justice Department exercised that muscle on Thursday, when it shut down Megaupload, one of the Internet’s most popular file-sharing sites.

bostonglobe.com...

Well how about DEM Apples?

Our rights have been taken away in real life. Now they are coming for our computers and internet. Download everything you can while you can... Seriously

Greetings, amongus

Originally posted by amongus
SOPA will NOT happen. Get over this people. It WONT happen.

Hope you're right, as Lamar Smith plans to re-introduce SOPA in another form.
Lamar Smtih serves "the will of obama!"

Meanwhile, and more insidious than SOPA, please consider this report,
Obama Signs Global Internet Treaty Worse Than SOPA

...Obama signed an international treaty that would allow companies in China or any other country in the world to demand ISPs remove web content in the US with no legal oversight whatsoever

The question becomes, "are US Citizens are already beholden to obey this treaty?"
given that ratification from the obama-controlled senate is forthcoming:

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement was signed by Obama on October 1 2011, yet is currently the subject of a White House petition demanding Senators be forced to ratify the treaty. The White House has circumvented the necessity to have the treaty confirmed by lawmakers by presenting it an as “executive agreement,” although legal scholars have highlighted the dubious nature of this characterization.

"Big brother is watching..."

The treaty will also mandate that ISPs disclose personal user information to the copyright holder, while providing authorities across the globe with broader powers to search laptops and Internet-capable devices at border checkpoints.

reply to post by zooplancton


Movements on Facebook are a joke because Facebook is only good for face value, more importantly. I tried sharing good vibes, but people get distracted from the message by the sound.

Facebook activist: one who desires to give the illusion of appearing to be an activist.

opinion.financialpost.com...

Throughout Free Ride, Mr. Levine homes in on what he refers to as “Silicon Valley libertarianism that rejects any form of Internet regulation — except, in most cases, when it happens to help the technology business itself.” But the net-neutrality libertarianism here is not the brand that puts much stock in markets and individual rights. “In the world of net neutrality, everyone works for the benefit of all, and individual rights mostly just get in the way. This fits with the trend toward deconstruction, which has made academics ever more skeptical of the Romantic ideal of individual genius. All artists build on the work of others, just as programmers combine existing bits of code.”

A different take on SOPA.

Lean, targeted legislation. A concept that some politicians should learn to admire through their love of pork.