RIAA’s Hostile Takeover of the Internet

Written by Jens Roland on April 29, 2009

Until recently, the recording industry were committing publicity suicide by routinely issuing legal threats to file sharers. Now, they seem to have changed the routine, going for fewer, but bigger targets. The goal is clear: if you own the Internet, you don’t have to worry about pirates — or anyone else.

Earlier this month, four Pirate Bay visionaries were given harsh fines and jail sentences. Their only crime: creating the largest, free, uncensored, versatile file sharing platform on the Internet. Soon after, Taiwan passed 3-strikes legislation for copyright violations.

The recording industry is no longer targeting pirates - they are actually trying to hijack the very fabric of the Internet.

The apparent strategy:

1. Outlaw file sharing
2. Outlaw personal encryption and anonymization services
3. Set up a global, privately-run Internet surveillance program to spy on everybody all the time without a warrant — run by ISPs and paid for by the taxpayers
4. And finally, get the authority to block anyone from the Internet entirely, without the involvement of police, courts or any verifiable trail of evidence

We can not let this happen.

“It is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday facilitate a police state.” - Bruce Schneier

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Sarkozy is trying to implement a 3-strikes & you're orwelled 'law'.

That wouldn't be usurping your God given rights and Common Law with the Fascist Uniform Commercial Code, now would it? ~Gr♪m

The new agency that has been proposed will essentially take away any possibility of a fair trial the user may have had. How is it decided what is illegal activity and where is the line crossed?

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