SOPA Will Take Us Back to the Dark Ages

[wild roses]

How Hollywood is inflating piracy figures to push SOPA

Scroll halfway down page to see a list of conglomerates that hatched lobbyists on Washington to make SOPA/PIPA happen

Why the Web is sick of SOPA

Another is the history behind SOPA. The entertainment industry has gotten its way in Washington for decades -- longer copyright terms, harsher punishments for infringement, criminalizing attempts to circumvent "digital rights management" usage restrictions -- while unsuccessfully trying to squelch such advances as the VCR and the MP3 player.

The quote is from the last link. It's also why I refuse to feel sorry for entertainment bigwigs lobbying for these bills. They have always cried wolf, and they don't want anything to be in the public domain.

 

[saann]

Yeah but I assure you that an extensive majority of the people who watch trailers on the net will just Google it and watch a pirated or leaked or leaked version instead. The movie industry loses hundreds of millions of dollars a year because of illegal movie streaming. Same with cartoons, sitcoms, documentaries and soap operas. The entertainment industry is within its right mind to support this bill, because trust me, if the industry wanted to generate public interest in a movie they have the means and the money to shove it down people's throat.

No one is denying that there is a loss for the the entertainment industry in piracy, but the losses aren't as great as they estimate. Like I've mentioned in my previous post, every person who downloads/streams does not equal a loss in a paying customer. It is more likely for a film to go unseen than to get a rise in its boxoffice if it didn't get an online bump. Piracy makes us view more film, listen to more music. There is no way that would have happened if having content available online didn't exist.

I think they should have invested all this energy and money on finding better distribution outlets. Because speaking from a personal perspective, the times I've downloaded/streamed material it's because they haven't been available nearby. The internet creates a global environment and for users like me, I don't want to have to wait 6 months just to see a film when it's already released in the US. I mean 'Black Swan' was released in march here, after the Oscars and the fuss.

I also find it interesting that it's all the big entertainment companies that are backing this. I'm pretty sure that the ones taking the biggest hits in online piracy are the smaller films, the smaller bands etc. Because big studio films are the ones who get good distribution deals and can make money. It's these smaller films that are hard to find that are suffering the most.

ETA: I just can't feel any sympathy for an industry crying for a money loss all the while placing bigger and bigger budgets on their projects

 

[softgrey]

err...
this just makes me want to run around the internet copying every image i like to my computer- quick, before all the sites get shut down...

imagine tFS with no IMAGES...
...

 

[saann]

^tFS would be pretty much dead if that happened. Not to mention the magazines section

 

[Scott]

^we would no longer exist. it's disgusting......reeks of corporate manipulation and utter greed. what makes me angry about this whole bill is how it paints sharing as unadulterated selfishness but like saan just described it's also about the lack of access elsewhere.

 

[tigerrouge]

That said, I can remember fashion magazine forums from the time when scans were a welcome addition to the conversation if people could supply them, but outside of that, it was entirely possible to have a great experience from simply being in the company of others who shared your interests and could talk about it. So the perennial tfs complaint that people don't type meaningful enough replies might cease to be a problem, in that case...
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[D A N A]

I hope this law doesn't pass. This is so ridiculous. I can't even believe anyone is serious about this.

 

[Scott]

well let me re-phrase that.....without images we would no longer have that depth or substance. opinions and discussions are certainly an integral part of what makes this site so popular but we rely on visuals to instigate and narrate these discussions. without them i don't think we could survive solely on our words.

 

[softgrey]

i think that tumblr would virtually cease to exist...right?

 

[John_M.]

Long story short- this will screw just about all of us. Rarely do I post pictures on tFS, but as a blogger and a YouTuber, this can really screw me and my online work. So I have "quietly" joined the anti-SOPA and anti-PIPA crowd because of this. I even signed that petition on Google regarding being against SOPA yesterday.

 

[wild roses]

ACTA: the international version of SOPA/PIPA

And not only is it that, but it's far more draconian. It's basically Big Brother policing your every online action. (The only reason it came to light is because somebody leaked the secret treaty talks.)

 

[Blodeuwedd]

I've started seeing that a lot of people that used megaupload as a backup or cloud server horrified at the reality that all their data, personal files and legal private content is now seized and gone. I personally didn't use it as my cloud storage, though I wonder if other sites will eventually follow that? Dropbox, Mediafire, ADrive? I also use Amazon and SkyDrive. Even Blogspot would be taken down as the way SOPA is written (I'm sure Google would put up a fight), as many blogs upload content to share - music, photos, documentaries, etc.

Online music streaming sites are also starting to be blocked in certain countries. I know it took forever for the US to get Spotify due to massive licensing fees and I just started backing up mine on Google Music (pain in the...!) and while I'm unaware of the laws within other countries, Grooveshark is now blocked in Germany. Then again from a short discussion I had with someone from there they have little access to Youtube, Hulu, Netflix, Google Music, etc. They only way they can by-pass it is by altering your proxy or using Tor. I know a lot of people will definitely hate this, but in the massive globalized network that is the internet, limiting access to things always perplexes me, especially when it is something that is streamed online and free to begin with (hulu, youtube). "Sorry, you're in Canada; you can't watch this."

 

[D A N A]

SOPA was withdrawn! Yay.

I hope governments stop attacking online streaming sites, and upload/download sites.
They should worry about more important thing, IMO

 

[Ives927]

^ Not just yet. It's only been postponed.

 

[Blodeuwedd]

Yea, I read that, too. It's just been 'shelved' temporarily.

Found this from techdirt.

Reinforcing the fact that Chris Dodd really does not get what's happening, and showing just how disgustingly corrupt the MPAA relationship is with politicians, Chris Dodd went on Fox News to explicitly threaten politicians who accept MPAA campaign donations that they'd better pass Hollywood's favorite legislation... or else:

"Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake,"

Sounds like bribery to me.

 

[Blodeuwedd]

Here is a great video from a TED talk regarding SOPA/PIPA by Clay Shirky.

 

[John_M.]

I am a blogger and a YouTube user. SOPA and PIPA would screw over people like myself. The whole Megaupload deal concerns me as well. I don't know how many gamers we have here on tFS, but there were some games where I downloaded mods for games. With Megaupload taken down, that hurts the gaming community (especially the PC gaming community). So the impact of things like SOPA and PIPA can deal significant flesh wounds to multiple online services and communities- including us folk here on tFS.

 

[wild roses]

There is at least one way to fight back: secondhand/used places or used online places (ebay, amazon, etc). The profit they make doesn't go the entertainment industry, it stays in the local owner's pocket.

(The owner of one that I know was telling me that the entertainment industry wants to go after secondhand/used places next. Particularly places that sell used games, but the gaming industry has been fighting back so the bigwigs have backed off.)

 

[Scott]

well following the raid on megaupload,two more popular sharing sites bit the dust today apparently. filesonic is no longer allowing direct downloads unless you are a member and have files stored that you need and uploaded.to has completely removed access to the american market.

so despite this bill being shelved for the moment,the pressure and its affects are continuing to reverberate across the globe.....they're being spooked,it appears.

i tell you,if this keeps going,expect to pay for every single move you make on the internet. it will no longer be free. we're north korea. as if internet access isn't expensive as it is....we'd all just be paying to monitored.

 

[neonsprinkles]

While it's great to see SOPA is being post-ponned, the fact that major file-sharing websites are slowly dissappearing means that it's still in effect....It's scary to think that all these years of internet cross cultural exchange of information and imagery can be withdrawn by politics and money.....think about it.....one day, the internet we have right now may be a "black market" luxury one day....augh.....