Posted on 11/19/2010 5:41:04 AM PST by markomalley
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a bill that would give the Attorney General the right to shut down websites with a court order if copyright infringement is deemed central to the activity of the site regardless if the website has actually committed a crime. The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) is among the most draconian laws ever considered to combat digital piracy, and contains what some have called the nuclear option, which would essentially allow the Attorney General to turn suspected websites off.
COICA is the latest effort by Hollywood, the recording industry and the big media companies to stem the tidal wave of internet file sharing that has upended those industries and, they claim, cost them tens of billions of dollars over the last decade.
My concerns are not trying to defend those who are stealing others' intellectual property but that this sets up a really, really, really bad precedent that could be applied in other areas of government censorship. Say, for example, if they want to shut down Free Republic. They would shut down the site and then force JimRob to hire a lawyer and go after them in order to get that order lifted.
Not the way things are supposed to work in this country, last time I checked.
This is such a bad, stinking idea it isn’t funny. “Let’s give the government more power...” Police state, anyone????
ping
No one would be surprised if under the Obama-DNC-Fascists
that melanin content was discussed in the law, or that
genital and rectal probes would be allowed for the government.
More Government censorship...oh boy! I just cant wait for the entire internet to get back to every website 24 hour O’bama coverage. No more need for real news. O’bama can tell us everything we need to know...
Big Media has made “copyright protection” as task for Homeland Security (and no I am not using hyperbole).
The Red Diaper Doper Babies are killing this nation.
hmmmm......end of FR!?!?!?
If somebody posts 3 or more words protected by copywrite, we’re toast!
These clowns just don’t learn.
Not just “the government” - the ERIC (the Red) Holder Government, overseers of the Department of Selective Justice
Hey lefties, would this have “sailed through” if John Ashcroft or SARAH PALIN was the AG?
C’mon 2012.
bad news
Our p*ssy of a president is ABSOLUTELY unwilling to use nuclear weapons and seeks to end our nuclear capacity. Yet he is perfectly damned willing to establish a "nuclear option" against his own citizens.
I fear we will meet in the streets.
China
Holder is just like Reno.....don't sneeze unless he gets the OK from Dumbo
If anything we should build a virtual
“Great Wall of America” to keep the Chinese out of OUR internet.
It IS our greatest weakness right, it affects almost every aspect of our lives, the Chinese can hack anything, from disabling your car to virtual phone message spoofing.
I can visualize a massive attack from them enabling any cellphone to go berserk, calling porn sites, of which then a bill like this would effectively then shut down all cellphone service in America.
(COICA) = BOHICA........................
Looks like the dems aren’t ‘retreating’....they are ‘reloading’.
The obvious work around is off shore hosting.
Wonder if they plan to block traffic from “offending” sites as well? That is the real question.
I’ve heard Limewire was shutdown.
Many people thought the election would slow the leftists down. It has only convinced them they must try harder.
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