US ISPs Delay Rollout of "Six Strikes" Copyright Enforcement Framework 216
zacharye writes with an excerpt from BGR: "The new 'six strikes' anti-piracy policy soon to be implemented by a number of major Internet service providers in the United States will reportedly stumble out of the gate. The policy, which is set to be adopted by Comcast, Cablevision, Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and other ISPs, will see action taken against users caught downloading pirated files in six steps, ultimately resulting in bandwidth throttling or even service suspensions. The system responsible for managing the new policy may not be ready on schedule, however, and the targeted launch date of July 12th may slip back as a result..."
"Illegal downloading" Again! (Score:5, Interesting)
There ain't no such thing.
Everything on the Internet is Copyrighted (or public domain)...
There may be illegal sharing. Or making available. Just not downloading.
Of course the "Industry" wants to plant a meme -- "illegal downloading".
Since there is no such thing (as illegal downloading(*)), usenet groups have been cut first (because usenet clients do NOT upload as they download). Peer-to-peer systems upload from clients, which is why they got hit.
MegaUpload? A shot across the bow -- and the service ended up being legal.
Advice: Turn off sharing in your bittorrent client, unless you are sure that you can distribute the material.
Or fetch the material from usenet, ftp, or other "one-way" means. Do not post the material on Web Sites, ftp servers or usenet -- do not make it available for download.
Unless you live somewhere more enlightened, of course (Personal Copy Exemption in Canada, for example).
(*) Except for specific material, child porn, hate literature, other material, depending on venue.
Re:"Illegal downloading" Again! (Score:5, Interesting)
Turn off sharing in your bittorrent client, unless you are sure that you can distribute the material.
Or fetch the material from usenet, ftp, or other "one-way" means.
Or torrent anonymously via I2P. The selection isn't as good, but it will be if more people start using it before their sixth strike.
The Onion Router (Score:4, Interesting)
TOR, TOR, TOR! The more people who use The Onion Router [torproject.org], the better. There will need to be some brave souls out there to run Exit Nodes as they will be the ones targeted if, or when, accusations begin flying.
If they try to ban TOR in the United States, we _ALL_ simply stand up to our government and say "WHAT?!? I was under the impression the United States government espoused a belief in Freedom and Democracy for all people. Why do you think I run TOR? I do it to support those people who wish to communicate freely and throw off their oppressors! Since you are trying to ban TOR in the United States, , I presume you no longer support the struggles of those people who are being crushed by oppressive regimes? It seems to me, , that you actually want to turn the United States into an oppressive police state where the individual is much less important than a corporation, in violation of the Constitution of these United States. Didn't you swear an oath to uphold and defend said document?"
Never give them a chance to bullshit their way out of it. Hit them hard, hit them fast, and keep hitting them with the "So, you work for the corporations now? You certainly are no longer representing the People." and so on. Hey, if they can use "Think of the children??" then we, the People, can damn well use all of the above to get them to back down.
This is still a free country... right?
Maybe it is time for the Nuclear Option (Score:3, Interesting)
Perhaps we should consider the nuclear option. This would be to simply destroy these big telecoms and labels that won't stop attacking internet freedom because of some copying. They are not hurting for money despite piracy and they pay the artists little, leaving the bands to survive on performance only.
Step 1. Free CD/DVD day. People all over the world burn all the music they can find onto DVD and CD-R's and pass them out on the street or leave them in places for people to find like bus seats, subway seats. Stick them in newspapers and free auto or rental property booklets you find at grocery stores and shopping malls. This will spread things around and cripple these goons financially. This will target the RIAA since they are the worst offender. Send a strong message by demolishing the last 3 or 4 big labels and leaving the RIAA in total ruin. Avoid hurting any indie labels if possible. We will need them later.
Step 2. For movies, push hard for a "Steam" like solution where you can buy once, redownload if you lose a copy and run it on any player. The MPAA members can go with this or they can face the fate of the RIAA. I think given that choice, they will go with the steam method and find that it actually increases sales and profits, especially on older stuff that can be put on sale at times.
Step 3. For music, it would be good to see a community form where most music gets shared freely and the artists make a living from live performance. They already do this now, the difference is that they rely on the big labels recording studios and for distribution. The internet can handle distribution easily. Just share. Bands would hire local micro studios to record in and let the experts there do the mixing and other work involved in polishing their album. Since tech is cheap now you don't have to be a multi billion dollar label to set up a studio. You just need some enthusiasts with know how and a few thousand dollars in computers and other equipment and local bands can come record for a reasonable fee. Production is cheap. CD burners, usb sticks and the internet. The band lives off of t-shirts and performance like today. The difference? No big labels to kowtow to and sign your rights away to forever. I think that is a win-win for everyone except the RIAA. The smaller indie labels will form the first micro-studios used by local bands to record.
Re:Bye Bye free Wirless at Starbucks, McDonalds... (Score:3, Interesting)
This is probably why the implementation date is slipping. The ISPs might be waking up to the shitstorm that comes when they roll this out.
I wonder how much government bailout money we will need to pay in extra taxes once the ISPs lose the large majority of their customers and income...
If supposedly 50% of people pirate just software [slashdot.org], that alone will result in the ISPs only having 50% of their current income.
Throw music and movies into the mix, and it would not surprise me if that number was over 75%.
That's a hell of a lot of income to willingly refuse to take...