SOPA and the Wikipedia blackout

[Eamonnca1]

Well, they've certainly got the media's attention with this, haven't they?

Shame their "learn more" page redirects back to the blacked out page.

[Just_Browsing]

you can still get on to any page of wikis using Googles cache page of it.  So if you want to search for anything e.g - go to google and type in wiki GAA - the first result will give you this URL - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaelic_Athletic_Association - just then go back to google and type in cache:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaelic_Athletic_Association and you'll get the page up.

[Denn Forever]

Its about anti piracy and file sharing but what does Wiki hve to do with that?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16590585
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16604990
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16596577

In a nutshell.

The English version of the Wikipedia website will be shut down for 24 hours in protest at new laws being proposed in America to stop online piracy.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are considering bills that would allow the US authorities to seek to block sites that allow illegal file sharing.

Wikipedia's founder, Jimmy Wales, told Newsnight he agrees with protecting copyrighted content but not with the way it is being done.

[AQMP]

Evil Genius will be gutted!

[ludermor]

He wont be on his own, id say the stats on the Man Utd page will be reduced today as well!

[AQMP]

Good day to have a quiz!

[Magicsponge]

Its about anti piracy and file sharing but what does Wiki hve to do with that?

Basically the bill is very badly written, it is too vague, sites that are completely legal could be shut down by ISP's just in case it has something illegal in it. ISP's would have the power to censor whatever the want and that would be open to abuse, they could block a rivals website for example.

The wording of the bill makes it so that it may be possible for ISP's to block access to open source software(the legal free stuff), because those sites host software that may enable piracy.

I don't think these sites that are going on the blackout are pro piracy but more anti-censorship, SOPA or PIPA would see the US use DNS blocking, which is the same method that Iran and China use.

[The Iceman]

Craislist is set to be censored too (US version of Gumtree)
Crazy crazy laws being discussed and pushed through over here.....

[whiskeysteve]

[thejuice]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement

http://infojustice.org/archives/7508

Despite SOPA being shelved, the EU have signed the ACTA treaty on our behalf. Obama put his name to it too. It just needs to be agreed in the European Parliament. Ireland are expected to go along with it, if our representative hasn't already.

ACTA first came to public attention in May 2008 after a discussion paper was uploaded to Wikileaks. After more leaks in 2009 and 2010 and denied requests for disclosure by groups such as Doctors without Borders, IP Justice, the Canadian Library Association, and the Consumers Union of Japan, the negotiating parties published an official version of the then current draft on 20 April 2010. In June 2010, a conference with "over 90 academics, practitioners and public interest organizations from six continents" concluded "that the terms of the publicly released draft of ACTA threaten numerous public interests, including every concern specifically disclaimed by negotiators." A group of 75+ law professors signed a letter to President Obama demanding that ACTA be halted and changed.

The final text was released on 15 November 2010, with English, French, and Spanish published on April 15, 2011. A signing ceremony was held on 1 October 2011 in Tokyo, with the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea signing the treaty. The European Union, Mexico, and Switzerland attended but did not sign, professing support and saying they will do so in the future. Article 39 of ACTA states countries can sign the treaty until 31 March 2013. European Parliament reportedly has the final decision over whether the treaty is dismissed or enacted. On 26 January, 2012, the European Union and 22 Member States signed the treaty (without Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Netherlands and Slovakia, which are expected to sign it on the completion of respective domestic procedures).

Opponents have argued that the treaty will restrict fundamental civil and digital rights, including freedom of expression and communication privacy. "The bulk of the WTO's 153 members" have raised concerns that the treaty could distort trade and goes beyond the existing Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Opponents also criticize ACTA's removal of "legal safeguards that protect Internet Service Providers from liability for the actions of their subscribers" in effect giving ISPs no option but to comply with privacy invasions. According to an analysis by the Free Software Foundation, ACTA would require that existing ISPs no longer host free software that can access copyrighted media, and DRM-protected media would not be legally playable with free or open source software.