[Thaeris]

On the Internet!

Sources have informed me that recent lobbying efforts have encouraged various large telecom groups to band together and adopt the "Six Strikes" policy, which may potentially inhibit your ability to access information:

"Friends,

Here it comes: After months of secret negotiations with the players who pushed SOPA, the major Internet Service Providers on the verge of implementing their "Six Strikes" plan to fight "online infringement". With essentially no due process, AT&T, Cablevision Systems, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon will get on your case if you're accused of violating intellectual property rights -- and eventually even interfere with your ability to access the Internet. (You can contest accusations -- if you fork over $35.)"

If this disturbs you, you may consider following this link:

http://act.demandprogress.org/act/six_strikes_2013/?referring_akid=a8191918.172846.OM4yVs&source=auto-e

Granted, your petitioning may be discarded as empty posturing, but one can always try. And trying is better than not trying. Be warned, however, your efforts may just result in some overpaid ****er telling you to get lost:

"I appreciate the time you took to express your thoughts about cybersecurity. Like you, I am concerned about the potential use of the Internet and telecommunications technology to cause harm to the nation's economic and security interests.

Similar to other national security challenges in the post-9/11 era, cyber threats are multi-faceted and lack clearly defined boundaries.  The source of cyber intrusions is often difficult to determine, but recent reports indicate that many of these attacks or espionage activities may be sponsored by foreign governments. In light of these findings, we have a responsibility to protect critical networks while we protect civil liberties and individual privacy.

Last Congress, in an effort to protect proprietary information stored on domestic cyber networks, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3523, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). I supported this legislation because it gave U.S. businesses the support they need to better protect their customers and networks from a cyber attack, and included provisions to ensure that the private information of American citizens would remain private. This legislation also would have helped to defend our nation's computer networks by making it easier for the federal government and approved U.S. companies to share information about cyber threats and attacks. The 112th Congress ended before the Senate took action on this legislation.

Should future legislation concerning cybersecurity come to the floor of the Senate for a vote, I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind.

It is a privilege to represent you and all Hoosiers in the U.S. Senate. Your continued correspondence is welcome and helps me to better represent our state. I encourage you to write, call, or email if my office can ever be of assistance."

Why thank you too, by which I mean go **** yourself. This, coming from the government who has engaged in all manner of "cyber warfare" against various other governments...

Raeg aside, please consider attempting to sway the opinions of those who would like to rule over you. Or feel free to talk about it here, or something.

[Fury]

If someone really has to illegally access copyrighted material, why be stupid about it?

Spoiler:

1. Virtualbox
2. Linux
3. VPN
4 ???
5. Profit!

[Aardwolf]

This isn't just about "actual piracy" though, it's about due process.

All it takes is someone who doesn't like you to shout "infringement" 6 times, and you're either off the Internet or forced to pay money, regardless of whether or not you did anything.

[el_magnifico]

@Thaeris: I'm confused. Why is copyright infringement equaled to cybersecurity threats in that response from a senator that you posted? And if it is indeed covered under the same umbrella in US legislation, wouldn't this be better suited for that other thread where thinking is a sinful act?

[Thaeris]

Maybe, I don't know. Many of these issues are inter-related at some level; the whole affair may be cited as an element of the growing "police state" which strives to keep the citizenry in line with the threat of law, rather than seeking to serve the general populace with the protection of law.

As per why I posted the letter, it's because it was a response to a related petition. I suppose it's nice that automated mailers will respond to a petition letter you signed and then sent out (mutual laziness for the win, though sometimes I write my own messages), but I just wanted to illustrate how much the email communicates the idea that your (and my) positions really don't matter all that much to these people. In that same regard, our position that we shouldn't have to be afraid to communicate and share information online is similarly dismissed by the corporations in question, who seem all too happy to throw that sentiment away with what amounts to a big, "**** you, little people."

[el_magnifico]

OK.

You're truly a libertarian, I see. I congratulate you on that.

[Nuke]

if i wasnt already stockpiling weapons, i would start.