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As you've all probably been made painfully aware of by now, the SOPA/PIPA protests across the 'net had a hell of an effect; the two "anti-piracy" bills have been tabled indefinitely by both sides of the Capitol.
What you might not be aware of, however, is what the Department of Justice did soon afterwards: came down on file-sharing site MegaUpload with a vengeance, taking it down completely and arresting associated persons as far away as New Zealand. No due process or anything like that, just wham, bam, jail-door slam.
There's been a lot of outrage about this, and I can certainly see why...even so, however, I see this as something that, wrong as it is, needed to happen for 2 reasons.
First off, it shows that SOPA and PIPA are completely unnecessary. The government already has all the authority that the MPAA and RIAA wanted to give them (and, likely, themselves...*coughcough*) to take down websites like that, taking out one of the industries' main excuses for both bills.
Secondly, it shows just how dangerous and overreaching such authority as granted by those bills would be, since the Constitution seemingly got completely sidestepped here. With any luck, this will put those thirsty for power in DC under a very uncomfortable spotlight and start to bring some sense and accountability back to those we elect to run the show.
On a more personal note, I think the takedown of MegaUpload is complete BS. Sure, there was undeniably some media theft going on there, but it was also (and, to my knowledge, primarily) a means of people sharing their own creations with the world in a free, easy manner.
Some would argue that taking it down was justified because of the illegal stuff...well, let me paint a scenario to shoot that mentality down nice and quick for you by giving you a real-life example: the automobile.
We use it to get to work, to take loved ones to school and the hospital, to go get groceries, to deliver mail...it's a very key part of our lives, much like how the Internet has become.
It is also, however, used for drunk driving, hit-and-runs, drive-by shootings, human trafficking, and, as Timothy McVeigh and Al-Qaeda have shown us, terrorism.
While the evils committed with cars are vastly, vastly outweighed by the good and normal things we do with them every day, by the logic of these people, we should outlaw vehicles completely.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the Defense rests.
What you might not be aware of, however, is what the Department of Justice did soon afterwards: came down on file-sharing site MegaUpload with a vengeance, taking it down completely and arresting associated persons as far away as New Zealand. No due process or anything like that, just wham, bam, jail-door slam.
There's been a lot of outrage about this, and I can certainly see why...even so, however, I see this as something that, wrong as it is, needed to happen for 2 reasons.
First off, it shows that SOPA and PIPA are completely unnecessary. The government already has all the authority that the MPAA and RIAA wanted to give them (and, likely, themselves...*coughcough*) to take down websites like that, taking out one of the industries' main excuses for both bills.
Secondly, it shows just how dangerous and overreaching such authority as granted by those bills would be, since the Constitution seemingly got completely sidestepped here. With any luck, this will put those thirsty for power in DC under a very uncomfortable spotlight and start to bring some sense and accountability back to those we elect to run the show.
On a more personal note, I think the takedown of MegaUpload is complete BS. Sure, there was undeniably some media theft going on there, but it was also (and, to my knowledge, primarily) a means of people sharing their own creations with the world in a free, easy manner.
Some would argue that taking it down was justified because of the illegal stuff...well, let me paint a scenario to shoot that mentality down nice and quick for you by giving you a real-life example: the automobile.
We use it to get to work, to take loved ones to school and the hospital, to go get groceries, to deliver mail...it's a very key part of our lives, much like how the Internet has become.
It is also, however, used for drunk driving, hit-and-runs, drive-by shootings, human trafficking, and, as Timothy McVeigh and Al-Qaeda have shown us, terrorism.
While the evils committed with cars are vastly, vastly outweighed by the good and normal things we do with them every day, by the logic of these people, we should outlaw vehicles completely.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the Defense rests.
