OptiMagnus wrote:Bumblevivisector wrote:So, any chance of Seibertron.com getting behind protests of CISPA?
It's not exactly like SOPA/PIPA, but it would give the government and corporations the power to quash the 1st Amendment online, as long as they claim it's for "cybersecurity".
And there's that deal ISPs made with the RIAA and MPAA to constantly spy on their users for any "piracy", and some backroom deal Chris Dodd just made with Obama to enact some sort of "Back-Door SOPA/PIPA" without any approval from congress.
Just wanted to make sure this was brought up, since the technology companies DON'T have our backs this time, and I thought this the best thread for it.
I highly doubt there is any "backroom deal" without Congressional approval. If there was it would be all over the news. This whole SOPA/PIPA concept is way too hard to pass through as law and I think it will be abandoned sooner or later. I think the repercussions from the public would defeat the benefits.
The problem with any of this making the news is that it's something media companies don't want in the news, so it gets drowned out. I don't remember seeing any story about SOPA/PIPA on TV until the day before the blackout (of course, I can't watch every channel), and even then the newscasters seemed to have orders to be as dismissive as possible of internet users' concerns.
Though I agree that it is odd this has only come out online, since "conspiracy between Obama and liberal Hollywood to undermine Constitution" is just the sort of accusation Republicans would love to throw out at a rally. Heck, I'd love to see that happen, since that could create enough pressure to get the President to scuttle the deal and veto CISPA. It already has 106 supporters in the House, but the Senate might barely kill it, since they took more direct heat from PIPA than the House did from SOPA. Still, there's no guarantees this time, since a lot of tech companies and FACEBOOK(!) are backing CISPA. If the MPAA gets in on that deal, then get set to read nothing but positive reviews on IMDB, some of which used to be honest but negative reviews by you, still in your name!
Whether or not this passes, better get to know your local ACLU office and a good Constitutional law attorney; this is gonna' be one ugly decade.
Sorry about the rant, but word is spreading slower this time without help from tech companies, so I'm bringing it up wherever I appropriately can.