Cautious Optimism Follows SOPA Hearings: Don't Get Cocky

http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2011/11/cautious-optimism-follows-sopa.php

by jzb • 15 years ago

43 16 15 years ago

maeon3• 15 years ago

Maybe there is a way to go on the offensive and make net neutrality and net connectivity a basic unalienable human right. Congress could not care less about music artists, economic fairness and copyright in general. They have seen an opportunity to grab power to regulate throttle and authorize all data in the tubes and are doing what they can to grab it.

Its kind of funny to wonder why a Congress that just got done bankrupting this country is concerned about music and the sharing thereof.

daspion• 15 years ago

The same reason that pizza is now a vegetable, they only want to tackle topics that are backed by their donating special interests. We need to fight back against those corporations that are supporting this bill.

dminor• 15 years ago

A few years ago online poker proponents thought they had the UIGEA squelched, and then it got tacked onto the Safe Ports Act in committee (when they reconcile the house and senate versions) and sailed through in a midnight session.

So yeah, don't get cocky.

jzb• 15 years ago

I had forgotten that. Thanks for the comment.

njharman• 15 years ago

The new content distribution companies (what article calls silicon valley) need to invest 5% of net revenue in lobbying out of existence the old content distribution companies (aka music, movies, books).

That stuff will still be made, this is a war over distribution not creation.

libraryatnight2• 15 years ago

That's kind of what I was wondering. Will tech companies ever start lobbying back? They have the money.

AdamFernandez• 15 years ago

I think it's just sad that a chart shows the different amounts of lobbying money that are given by both groups as a comparison. Everyone just implicitly accepts that money is the most important metric used by politicians to decide which legislation to support. The game is out in the open, and no cares.

libraryatnight2• 15 years ago

This is one of the things that frustrates me to no end. We have the data, we have the information, we can see it taking place, but nothing seems to be happening to fix it.

The people in charge feel so removed, like they're operating in a different world where the people can be shut up if they're ignored long enough. We've been Ferberized by our own government.

“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.” ― Frank Zappa

tomlin3• 15 years ago

Every time I read about lobbyists, I think, can't we just outright, wholesale ban lobbying? The only companies that can afford to lobby do so above and beyond any capacity that the average person or small business can. Doesn't that make it unfair? Sure, there are lobbyists from good organizations, but these organizations will never be able to compete with large corporate interests. So again, what's the point?

daniel-cussen• 15 years ago

The fourth largest lobby is the lobbying lobby.

yuhong• 15 years ago

Campaign donations are the problems, I think.

jerf2• 15 years ago

Lobbying is a particular kind of speech directed at lawmakers. It is difficult to imagine what kind of law can ban lobbying without having some sort of even worse unanticipated side effects.

It's a category error to think of "lobbying" as a distinct thing in itself that could somehow be banned, unfortunately.

tomlin3• 15 years ago

In my mind, it would be as simple as stating, "unless you're a single human being, your request will not be reviewed.". If you're representing a group of people, or a group of entities, you are disqualified from having an opinion on record.

I know it sounds utopian and probably not "realistic", for whatever reason, but it would certainly even out the playing field.

firefoxman1• 15 years ago

I think one of the main flaws in our system of government is that Congress is expected to regulate themselves. And I don't see any plausible scenario that would encourage them to outlaw a large chunk of their paycheck. Perhaps a large group of people suing several senate and house members to get a supreme court ruling? The constitution was written in a pre-industrial world where no large businesses existed yet, so it's not our founding fathers' faults, but now we're kind of stuck with an easily corruptible legislative branch.

Cautious Optimism Follows SOPA Hearings: Don't Get Cocky

Related Stories