In a great blow for Internet freedom, SOPA and PIPA both died last week after thousands of websites went dark in protest of them. However, the danger of these bills hasn't been destroyed; it's just been moved.
Now, I'm not talking about ACTA; that's an international group of laws that's already passed in over a dozen countries after being secretly negotiated in back rooms without public input, and is just awaiting ratification in the EU before going into effect. America passed it back in November, I believe. I'm talking about the Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011.
Sounds good, right? I mean, the name is very straightforward: child pornography is bad, and this bill stops it. But that's not what it actually does. The original bill was introduced in May 2011, and it requires ISPs to keep IP address records for 18 months. The idea is that when someone downloads child porn, they can trace the IP address to exactly who had leased it at the time and catch them. We'll ignore, for now, that it also requires them to store your name, the address where you live, your bank account numbers, and your credit card numbers [http://ipowerproject.com/forum/topics/pcipa-and-acta-the-next-pipa-and-sopa-the-bills-we-really-need-to]. We'll also ignore the fact that as per that article I just linked to, it won't actually do what it claims to do, and instead just amounts to a gross violation of privacy.
This is a bill that got crushed 6 months ago, but now it seems to be back, and the rumor mill says the worst parts of SOPA are going to be rolled into it. It was also written by Lamar Smith, just like SOPA was. And the bill's name basically says "If you don't vote for this then you're in favor of child porn." Wonderful.
What are your thoughts, on this, Escapists? And please, if you have any information I don't have, include it in your replies; I'd rather be proven a fool than have people be misled on my account.
EDIT: Make sure you read post #7 before replying. Relevant information is relevant. It seems the direct impact of PCIPA has been overblown some, though it is still the most likely place for pieces of SOPA to be reintroduced, now that it's back on the table. So there's nothing to worry about for now, but we should still keep a close eye on this bill.
Now, I'm not talking about ACTA; that's an international group of laws that's already passed in over a dozen countries after being secretly negotiated in back rooms without public input, and is just awaiting ratification in the EU before going into effect. America passed it back in November, I believe. I'm talking about the Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011.
Sounds good, right? I mean, the name is very straightforward: child pornography is bad, and this bill stops it. But that's not what it actually does. The original bill was introduced in May 2011, and it requires ISPs to keep IP address records for 18 months. The idea is that when someone downloads child porn, they can trace the IP address to exactly who had leased it at the time and catch them. We'll ignore, for now, that it also requires them to store your name, the address where you live, your bank account numbers, and your credit card numbers [http://ipowerproject.com/forum/topics/pcipa-and-acta-the-next-pipa-and-sopa-the-bills-we-really-need-to]. We'll also ignore the fact that as per that article I just linked to, it won't actually do what it claims to do, and instead just amounts to a gross violation of privacy.
This is a bill that got crushed 6 months ago, but now it seems to be back, and the rumor mill says the worst parts of SOPA are going to be rolled into it. It was also written by Lamar Smith, just like SOPA was. And the bill's name basically says "If you don't vote for this then you're in favor of child porn." Wonderful.
What are your thoughts, on this, Escapists? And please, if you have any information I don't have, include it in your replies; I'd rather be proven a fool than have people be misled on my account.
EDIT: Make sure you read post #7 before replying. Relevant information is relevant. It seems the direct impact of PCIPA has been overblown some, though it is still the most likely place for pieces of SOPA to be reintroduced, now that it's back on the table. So there's nothing to worry about for now, but we should still keep a close eye on this bill.
. Now I'm sad. The idea is right (once again) the execution is SHIT.