Reddit Users Are Writing a Law to Protect the Internet

http://mashable.com/2012/02/20/reddit-legislation/

by bootload • 14 years ago

12 4 14 years ago

mashable.com

mansolo• 14 years ago

Prediction: Reddit will become an official political party not too long in the future.

paulhauggis• 14 years ago

I sure hope not.

chii• 14 years ago

why not? Its a great idea, where geeks and those in the know about the internet can shape the future. Its much better than current political parties with their vested interests

nextparadigms• 14 years ago

The most this can do if it passes, is to eliminate the uncertainties regarding what's legal and what's not legal online, what's fair use, and so on. It could also put some breaks on other more abusive copyright-related laws, like the ones about mass surveillance, or the seizure of a website without being found guilty first, and so on.

That's the good part about such an Act. The bad part is that it's just a law. The copyright industry could still try to make new laws that will override many of the things in the FIA. The only (potentially huge) problem for them is that this would be just like us fighting against a "child pornography" bill - only that this time they would be fighting against a "Free Internet" law.

Overall, I think it's a great idea in the short to medium term, to stop any upcoming draconian copyright laws, or to at least weaken some of the ones that have already passed. But in the long term, this law probably won't be very resilient, and we might need a full Constitutional Amendment, if we're serious about protecting the Internet for decades or more.

Edit: And I just saw they're thinking about a global treaty, too. That's even better. The Internet needs to be protected globally after all.

Reddit Users Are Writing a Law to Protect the Internet

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