According to Wikipedia joins blackout protest at US anti-piracy moves in BBC online news, Wikipedia, online encyclopedia website, expresses opposition to the anti-piracy legislation, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act), of the US by being offline for 24 hours from midnight Eastern Standard Time (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday 18. The legislation would allow US department and content owners to require search engine not to show the results associated with piracy. Jimmy Wales, the site founder, says "the bill is so over broad and so badly written that it's going to impact all kinds of things that, you know, don't have anything to do with stopping piracy"
I think it is hardly possible to control the piracy or content on the Internet without violating freedom of expression and human right. For example in Germany, the law requires two years in prison for downloading illegal movies or mp3. In order to make this law effective, the government has servers to monitor illegal traffic in the country. That means whatever people in this country surf on, the government is watching them as well. In my view, I do not appreciate this approach much because it violate my privacy. I think there may be other ways to deal with piracy problem. I like the way Apple do in iTunes Music Store by selling 99 cents per song instead of whole album and making customers easy to use and purchase. With these approach, it makes iTunes Music Store the largest music retailer in the US today. Apple does not only in musics, but also in software as well. For me, I do not need to go to Pantip to buy illegal software or try to search for a crack anymore. I just sit in front of my computer and click to buy the one I really want for a few dollars. It will be better to cope with piracy by putting the burden on merchants to figure out the way, like what Apple do, instead of violating the right of customers.
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References
Wikipedia joins blackout protest at US anti-piracy moves (2012, January 18). BBC News. Retrieved January 18, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16590585
Pretty cool!! Right? you and me interested in the same thing :)
ReplyDeleteI think the proposed laws are wrong. Not because stealing is OK (it isn't, including intellectual property), but because they punish the wrong people and would harm many innocent people. It would be as reasonable to punish the Mercedes Benz company and distributors when their cars are used to deliver illegal DVDs, or the Bangkok government when the roads are used to transport bribes to corrupt officials.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Golf that most people would prefer to do the right thing rather than steal other people's property, and businesses that make it easy to do that at a fair price will profit as they deserve to, as Apple is doing.
It looks like the bills have been defeated, with likely more lasting results than a mere postponement, as Jonathon Weisman says in "After an Online Firestorm, Congress Shelves Antipiracy Bills", where he gleefully reports that the official announcement was made using Twitter: " a medium that helped organize protests against the legislation" (¶ 2).
ReplyDeleteI would agree, as do Wikipedia, Google and everyone else oppsing these laws, that intellectual property does need protection and that thieves should be punished, but that whilst PIPA and SOPA might have been very good for Hollywood studies, they were not just legislation and would have harmed many legitimate users and the internet itself. I'm glad the laws have been defeated. Hopefully next time round, Washington will come up with some better laws to justly protect intellectual property from theft.
References
Weisman, J. (2012, January 20). After an Online Firestorm, Congress Shelves Antipiracy Bills. The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/21/technology/senate-postpones-piracy-vote.html
Golf
ReplyDeleteI agree your idea. I think the high prices of original CD/DVDs and softwares are other main reason that triggering people to buy or download the illegal. If merchants reduce their product's prices, it would be the best solution.