jefflorditch

November 27, 2011 at 10:52pm

The purpose of all these "copyright protection" and "anti-piracy" acts is not to stop piracy, but to set the groundwork for the government to eventually shut down any web site they wish. If you read the verbage of these bills and acts, the definitions of what constitutes copyright infringement are so vague and broad that they end up including anything and everything they say it includes, much like what they say constitutes terrorist activity in documents such as the USA PATRIOT act, MIAC/FBI/Homeland Security documents, etc. This includes such mundane things as using cash, talking about the constitution, having a Ron Paul bumper sticker, etc.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13290698/The-Modern-Militia-MovementMissouri-MIAC-Strategic-Report-20Feb09-

http://www.prisonplanet.com/using-cash-sign-of-terrorist-according-to-fbi.html

It's just one more method that is being used to gut the Constitution and strip the American people of their rights. As you may know, the fourth amendment is almost gone, with the TSA setting up domestic groping checkpoints not only in airports now, but on highways, bus stations, train stations, and even at a high school prom in one state. They plan to soon install checkpoints and body scanners at malls, grocery stores, etc. The second amendment is under constant attack as well, with our government running operations like Operation Fast and Furious designed to demonize our right to bear arms.

The internet is the last bastion of free speech and communication we have. The mainstream media is a completely controlled propaganda machine, and as more and more people are discovering this, the attacks on the internet are growing. With Google, YouTube, etc, being caught time and again censoring and removing content at the behest of the government, I encourage everyone to take advantage of the internet we have now, as it may not last long. Independent, alternative news sites like naturalnews.com, infowars.com, corbettreport.com, and hundreds of others may not be around in a year or two. But the more people that support these sites and organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as getting involved with your representatives, the better chance we have of making a difference.

maxime29

November 26, 2011 at 9:30pm

Just in case anyone misses it, the list primarily has websites that sold sports jerseys and other merchandise.

mysterymantis

November 26, 2011 at 4:30pm

Whenever I see headlines like, "130+ domains seized by US authorities" and it isn't accompanied with, "after all other relevant and actual crime was stopped" I get sick.

 

Maybe not sick, but still.  They seized domains selling counterfeit clothing and pirated software.  Thank you for that, now I can feel safe knowing these terrorist won't be able to fly an airplane into your government buildings.  Oh wait, these were just people selling cheap knock offs of high end, expensive clothing that no one would ever mistake for the real thing, let alone substitute it. 

 

Get real, then get jobs.  There's actual crime going on out there, crime that directly effects people.  Crime that even effects the corporations that can't get it through their frigging heads that the patrons of these A-holes are either...

a) the same people that are buying their goods, or

b) people that never would have bought their goods, no matter what.

 

It's like the war on drugs.  It cost more than it is worth, and the gov is on the losing side of it every time.  So, by proxy, are we, since we are paying for it.

Nimrod

November 25, 2011 at 10:51pm

No. The last time they did this it came out that tons of the sites they shut down were perfectly innocent and it was very hard for them to get their sites back.

And no, I dont believe they are making a real dent in piracy either. But its a good way to get people more used to the government just doing what ever it wants.

alexw1234

November 25, 2011 at 3:18pm

counterfeit clothing sites? This means less spam on Maximum PC hopefully.

aarcane

November 25, 2011 at 3:15pm

Siezing Virtual property is no different than siezing Non-Virtual property, and I believe that when properly justified it's perfectly acceptible.  As such, police can't just Kick down someone's door and take their stuff, they need warrants or probable cause.  Since this isn't a situation where probable cause applies, then they need a Warrant or other Court order to make it fair and equitable, as well as an oversight process and a petition for return of property.  Because Domains are subscription properties, any siezed domain must be properly paid for by the authorities for any period of time for which it's owned, and any resultant damages, should it be shown that damages resulted from the temporary loss of a domain (IE: Accidentally siezing the wrong domain or similar.), just like with actual property.