Reddit PAC aims to kick SOPA's daddy Lamar Smith out of Congress

http://boingboing.net/2012/03/08/reddit-pac-aims-to-kick-sopa.html

by seminatore • 14 years ago

130 19 14 years ago

tzs• 14 years ago

> the Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011 (AKA "the Spy on Everyone Always Act")

Add Cory Doctorow to the list of authors who write about legislation they haven't read. What it actually requires is the keeping of IP address assignment records and the mapping of them to custormer records. A few sites have claimed it requires keeping a log of all sites actually browsed and data downloaded and such, but that's completely made up. It's disappointing that Doctorow apparently gets his information from such sites and doesn't verify it.

The relevant parts of the legislation are only a couple of paragraphs. Why do bloggers find it so damned hard to read it for themselves instead of just repeating what other bloggers write?

unimpressive• 14 years ago

> The relevant parts of the legislation are only a couple of paragraphs. Why do bloggers find it so damned hard to read it for themselves instead of just repeating what other bloggers write?

The same reason that most people run from the command line and other "Computer" stuff. Because someone, somewhere, convinced them that doing such a thing is beyond their capability.

You'll find elements of this in every field I reckon.

marshray2• 14 years ago

If you believe in the possibility of anonymity on the Internet, then you should probably oppose laws requiring "the keeping of IP address assignment records and the mapping of them to custormer records".

I've also heard that this law requires ISPs to turn this information over without a warrant. Is this not correct?

After there are data retention laws for IP assignment info, it's only one step away from requiring it of websites. "To protect the children" of course.

dissident3• 14 years ago

> I've also heard that this law requires ISPs to turn this information over without a warrant. Is this not correct?

That isn't correct, you could go and read the bill if you want: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h1981/text

Calling it the "Spy on Everyone Always Act" is sensationalized no matter what your opinion is on the bill. Most ISPs wouldn't even have to change their current behaviors to comply with it. (To be fair, that's not saying much anyway...)

The more bills we shoot down because of misinformation, the less likely we can defeat bills with more serious problems.

radu_floricica• 14 years ago

And this is bad enough. There are plenty of services that could make anonymity and privacy as part of their offer, and laws such as this make it a moot point.

Worse, it touches defaults. By default, most sites don't keep IP addresses (no point really, for most businesses). Changing this opens so many possibilities for law enforcement, and they are all the kind I'd expect the chinese government to be happy about.

keithpeter• 14 years ago

The ISPs can, and in the UK there is one of our lovely 'voluntary agreements' that has the ISP retaining information about web sites visited, but only for 4 days. Police need to move quickly, as they did in the riots last summer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_data_retenti...

Natsu4• 14 years ago

To be fair, you're reading quite a bit into that statement.

EDIT: Also, because it's not very clear, why do you think that the requirement to enable identification under 18 USC § 2703(c)(2) is not that much of a concern?

r00fus• 14 years ago

Bravo. This is action I support (and can support with $$).

Lamar Smith is almost completely corrupt - almost all the bad bills are co-sponsored by this clown. There are Dems as bad as this guy, but Congressman Smith seems far more effective in his corruptive capacity than any other congressman on the hill.

maeon3• 14 years ago

If you were serious about the donating money part, the best way to do this now (if they havn't already met the goal) is to donate to a billboard sign saying Lamar Smith is Killing the internet, with a big picture of a noose with a hashtag: "#unseatlamar":

Proposed picture of billboard: http://testpacpleaseignore.org/dollar-by-dollar-we-can-make-...

Donation status: https://secure.piryx.com/donate/EKph3wRp/Test-PAC-Please-Ign...

zht• 14 years ago

It doesn't seem like having a picture of a noose in an ad attacking a politician is a good idea.

cafard• 14 years ago

I am reminded of a simile from _The Manchurian Candidate_: about as effective a rubbing a jar of vanishing cream onto the flight deck of the USS Enterprise would be in making the carrier disappear.

(Quoted from distant memory--may be the wrong carrier.)

Reddit PAC aims to kick SOPA's daddy Lamar Smith out of Congress

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