Private Censorship of the Internet? Seriously... Like WTF?!?

[Renegade]

Well, you thought that you'd seen it all. You thought that you'd seen utter insanity run rampant... You thought it couldn't get worse...

Prepare yourself...

It just got worse. A lot worse. 

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/10/house-takes-senates-bad-internet-censorship-bill-makes-it-worse.ars

Imagine a world in which any intellectual property holder can, without ever appearing before a judge or setting foot in a courtroom, shut down any website's online advertising programs and block access to credit card payments. The credit card processors and the advertising networks would be required to take quick action against the named website; only the filing of a “counter notification” by the website could get service restored.

It's the world envisioned by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) in today's introduction of the Stop Online Piracy Act in the US House of Representatives. This isn't some off-the-wall piece of legislation with no chance of passing, either; it's the House equivalent to the Senate's PROTECT IP Act, which would officially bring Internet censorship to the US as a matter of law.

Please... God... Strike down all the politicians and lawyers and deliver us from evil. Amen.

[IainB]

Please... God... Strike down all the politicians and lawyers and deliver us from evil. Amen.

Well, if you pedantically reword:

...all the politicians and lawyers...

and make it:

...all the lawmakers and lawyers...

- then you may be hitting the nail on the head with greater accuracy.
Actually, you could probably do away with the word "lawyers" as it is redundant in this context. It's not them that are involved in changing this law, though they may be lobbying for it on behalf of whoever's pocket they are paid from.

I'm just supposing, of course, but this proposed new law could actually make a lot of sense if it was designed to create an impossible situation that could only be resolved by ... State control and regulation of the Internet.

This, at any rate, is where the UK Government seems to be heading.

[Renegade]

Please... God... Strike down all the politicians and lawyers and deliver us from evil. Amen.

Well, if you pedantically reword:

...all the politicians and lawyers...

and make it:

...all the lawmakers and lawyers...

- then you may be hitting the nail on the head with greater accuracy.

God'll figger it out!

I don't see this ending well...

But it's one thing to have state censorship, and another thing entirely to allow private censorship. Jeez. this is just completely nutty.

[J-Mac]

Or even...

...all the lawyers...

...would probably cover all you really need! 

Jim