No due process, they are just accused by the MPAA/RIAA.
Was not a US company and they arrested them in fucking new zealand. shutting down megaupload is like nuking a city because there is some drug dealing in it. A lot of legitimate stuff was on megauplaod and they complied with DMCA notices.
I guess SOPA and PIPA don’t matter because the US government will do whatever the fuck it wants anyway.
due process:
Megaupload has servers in VA, and ran american web traffic through those servers, therefore not above the law.
Officers had warrants, granted by a judge.
Let’s face it, megaupload was mainly about copyrighted content wasn’t it?
“Digital storage locker downloads constitute 7 percent of all Internet traffic, while 91 percent of the links found on them were for copyrighted material, and 10 percent of those links were to music specifically, according to a 2011 Envisional study.”
Mediafire on the other hand is arguably more user-oriented.
On the topic of SOPA, two questions:
Many of the people here are commercial musicians. How do you suggest we help them battle piracy?
Although SOPA and PIPA may have been badly worded, and ineffective, if introduced would give new power for the little guys to have a voice.
Under SOPA, if you have suffered 2,500 dollars in lost profits or damages to a site that denies to act in accordance with warnings, you can have it shut down. This would democratize copyright protection… right now the only people who can afford to punish pirates are the largest record labels, because they must hire lawyers to chase them all over.
It’s like a town in the wild west. Everyone has a machine gun and they can shoot it whenever, but if you get shot you need to hire a bandit to go look around town and find out whodonnit. Only the rich men can afford to live. The small guy will die.
THEREFORE:
By arguing against SOPA, PIPA, and even CURRENT LAW regarding copyright protection on the internet, you are promoting the monopoly of the music industry.
Enjoy being a DJ when all you have left to play is EMI records
C’mon now, bit of a rash statement . The law needs to change to accomodate the new internet and to combat piracy. But it needs to be done democratically!
We all know that the big dogs are already monopolising and lobbying everything they can, SOPA, PIPA and current law are evidence of this. The very fact that ex RIAA and MPAA are in the DOJ is enough to raise red flags! Theyre not just lobbying the government, theyre taking over the whole bloody internet!
Fair play to anonymous for taking down their websites, an eye for an eye. We need people like this to stand up and make a noise that can be heard by these greedy asshats.
I agree with the points made on both sides of this argument to varying degrees.
Yes SOPA/PIPA is a bad thing etc etc the arguments against them are correct.
Yes this is the thin end of the wedge and will affect the legitimate sharing of files and knowledge blah blah yes we all agree on that.
But, c’mon… Megaupload got shut down cus its were you can go to steal the latest Katy Perry single before its released. We know this. C’mon if were to have a grown up discussion about this lets stop pissing into the wind.
Apparently its the 13th most visited website in the world (according the source above).
What, cus students are looking for legitimate research papers..? NO. cus people are nicking what big business is trying to sell and big business has the power to influence government into doing shit like this.
Im not approving what the US Gov has just done (read that bit again before you wade into me) but is anyone really surprised by this…!!!
And what does it mean for Soundcloud ??? It means its coming down, eventually.
I dont see this ending happily at all.
+1 to all that as well.
Now before i get ripped into. See the nuance in my argument. Something that is severely lacking on DJTT when this subject is brought up is the ability of people to see a balanced view
your screwed up government works on precidents, give them an inch they will take 100 miles, once they can shut down internet sites with no opposition, then they will be able to filter the content, next you have the fourth riech and your precious freedom of speech will be no more, and because it will all happen small in calculated steps no one will take any action against it.
/conspiracy rant LOL
The government doesn’t need any more laws to deal with piracy. They will keep taking and taking and taking and the industry doesn’t realize that stuff downloaded is not lost profits. they claim they lost 500 million dollars from megaupload, according to who, their own research? Would people really have bought their shitty movies and music if they didn’t download it? Piracy is not 100% lost profit.
They have enough tools, the DMCA already gets abused with copyright trolling sending out as many DMCA notices to anyone they can clogging up the court system targeting college campuses where students are more likely to settle.
We don’t need to settle for more legislation, the minute you open up more opportunities the more it will get abused.
The OPEN act is still pretty bad and has issues and the MPAA doesn’t like it because it doesn’t have DNS blocking. They won’t be satisfied until they can control the internet and force as much shitty movies and music on people as possible at absurd prices.
This is a good explanation
People keep saying piracy is an issue and needs a solution, why is it that congress and the senate can’t agree on or resolve national problems for this country but when MPAA/RIAA lobyists throw around 94 million dollars there is bipartisian support for bills nobody wants that will harm everyone except the MPAA/RIAA?
Yeah but atleast someone is trying to fight back, instead of sitting around complaining and not doing anything. I mean there’s nothing I can do but it feels good that the gov cant just go around fucking shit up and there be nothing done. Its the message more than the action
which is stupid because we are trying to fight against censorship and internet regulation so attacking government websites is just hurting the cause. makes no sense. this is just internet slacktivism and it accomplishes nothing.
word, i guess it was kinda hurting the cause i didnt think about it like that. i still dont agree with them arresting them in New Zealand, i think thats stepping over the boundries a bit considering they aren’t even in our country.
The US has extradition treaties with many countries. NZ must be one, I know its also the case here in the UK. Its not reciprocal either, meaning the US can manhunt the world and prosecute at whim, while we (and im betting NZ too) cannot.
I agree our government is screwed up in many ways, don’t forget that your current government is based on our system, and actually put in place by ours when it was created.
I am at a cross roads on this. I agree that making money off someone’s copyrighted material is wrong without permission, but is just another grey area that leaves more questions than answers. With all the things our government should be addressing domestically, and abroad, this is just a self-serving, quick hand-washing, for the dicks in Hollywood before presidential campaign financing begins.
Ask any Vet who was forced to fight a war he may or may not have believed in: What is more important to you, 21st Century Fox’s profits or expanding VA benefits to returning soldiers? Likewise you could ask any member of the civilian sector what affects them more, reforming the health care system or protecting the intellectual rights of Hollywood?
Just another example of bad government in a 200+ year list of self service.
^This. American government has something up their sleeve and i really don’t like the way things are going. With all the SOPA bs and the Megaupload jazz, along with the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act, i think we’re slowly turning into a dictatorship of impending doom. (article attached on NDAA)
. The law needs to change to accomodate the new internet and to combat piracy. But it needs to be done democratically!
