The high profile shutdown of file-hosting company MegaUpload on January 20, and the arrest of CEO Kim Schmitz (aka Kim Dotcom) and other executives for allegedly operating a global pirating network, is the latest shot in the war over freedom on the internet.
It comes after the January 18 “black-out” protest staged by prominent internet companies, such as Wikipedia. Many companies either literally blacked out portions of their website, put up a protest notice or stopped working altogether to protest against the introduction of two bills in the US, the Stop Online Piracy Act (or SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (or Protect IP Act or PIPA).
See also:
Bid to censor net falters
Photo essay: Australians protest SOPA law
Video you need to see about SOPA
Opponents say the new laws would severely curtail freedom on the internet and give far too much power to the US and the big media and production companies, who already have an army of lawyers and lobbyists to protect their material.
The SOPA and PIPA bills are backed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), two powerful associations of film and music companies who claim that these bills are needed because internet piracy is killing off creativity in the industries.
The fears of the bills' opponents are well founded. If enacted, SOPA and PIPA would give the US jurisdiction over a huge number of websites (largely because a lot of websites have their domain names registered in the US). It would give the big media companies the power to take out injunctions against websites they claim are hosting or linking to their copyrighted material.
The court could then force the internet service providers hosting the site to shut it down, stop search engines displaying results from the site and force payment companies to halt all transactions. This can happen before the website has to be notified or even given a chance to respond to the claims.
The bills are also so broad that any website that allows users to upload images or content could be under threat. In addition to the serious consequences for the internet the bills also offer greater protections to pharmaceutical companies to take action against “counterfeit” drugs.
The January 20 shutdown of MegaUpload came amid the arrest of its executives for allegedly operating a global pirating network.
MegaUpload ran several websites for uploading and storing data. It hosted a lot of data that was largely unscrutinised. You name it, it was probably in there somewhere.
MegaUpload’s rules forbade uploading and sharing copyrighted content. When it occurred, the copyright holder could inform the site of the offending content to have it removed.
The indictments against Schmitz and other executives allege they were profiting from the download of these files through subscriptions to MegaUpload and advertising, as well as using the copyright notifications to create their own personal lists of material to download.
The shutdown of MegaUpload sent other file-hosting companies into a panic. Many blocked US users, ceased all sharing operations or shut down entirely.
However, there are still some file hosting companies outside US jurisdiction that are operating as normal.
It also provoked a response from online group Anonymous, who claimed responsibility for hacking attacks on the Department of Justice, Universal Music groups, as well as the MPAA and RIAA websites.
The MPAA claims file sharing of their material from MegaUpload alone was costing the industry about US$500 million a year. It says piracy costs the US economy US$58 billion a year.
If this figure is believed, it would equate to every person in the US consuming $2000 worth of DVDs per year, TorrentFreak.com said.
The Register reported that the concerted online campaign was having an effect. In response, Chris Dodd, CEO of the MPAA, told Fox News: “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."
If that wasn’t enough of a hint, he continued: "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.”
Even if industry’s hype about the effects of piracy are to be believed, the film industry is far from suffering. The MPAA’s own figures indicate worldwide box office takings increased from US$25.5 billion dollars in 2006 to a record-breaking US$31.8 billion in 2010.
There are plenty of artists, actors, extras, crew and others employed in a myriad of third-party media industries that have legitimate concerns about their livelihoods. But the key issue is with the unequal distribution of wealth within those industries.
Film, TV and music companies have always had to contend with people copying their copyrighted material using whatever means available, but they’ve also had a pretty steady hold on the distribution of that material. The internet has radically changed the way media can be distributed and most of these companies have been slow to adapt.
Instead of embracing new ways of distribution, they are now looking to choke off and stifle anything that looks like a threat to their profits.
If history is any guide, it is unlikely these new laws will have any effect on those conducting illegal activity. When one method of sharing files is shut down, new ones spring up in its place, as has happened previously with Napster and other file sharing systems.
But these proposed laws could have a serious impact on a lot of other websites.
The MegaUpload incident has caused many in the online community, such as technology news and information website Ars Technica, to ask why the SOPA and PIPA acts are even needed, given the powers US agencies already have to move into international jurisdictions to shut down a website, arrest and seize the assets of those suspected of piracy and breaching copyright.
The companies claim SOPA and PIPA are just about protecting their content (read: profits), but it’s also about trying to control online culture, protest and dissent.
Social expression on the internet takes many forms and a lot of memes are either based on or use popular culture — a lot of which comes from copyrighted material.
The fact that a website as innocuous as icanhascheezburger.com, featuring pictures of cats with silly captions, could be shut down for a copyright breach without notification or due process by a claim made under SOPA and PIPA shows how far-reaching these new laws are.
You don't have to stretch the imagination too far to see how easily these laws could also be used against websites that pose more of a threat to the status quo than captioned pictures of cats — websites such as WikiLeaks, Occupy sites or even Green Left Weekly.
The online protests of users, websites and companies do appear to have had an effect, at least for the time being. But the need to be vigilant remains.
US President Barack Obama has made some noises that his administration would not support censorship and there appears to have been a partial backdown in Congress. But it is by no means certain that it will be introduced again or that Obama would veto the legislation.
The industry lobbies have already said they will vigorously advocate their position during the run-up to the US elections and the principal sponsor of SOPA, Republican Lamar Smith, has indicated he will reintroduce an amended version of the legislation this year.
Coupled with Australian communications minister Senator Stephen Conroy’s proposed internet filter in Australia, we face a serious threat to the way in which the internet operates.
Such laws would allow the US and Australia to create blacklists with the potential to block the operation of many legitimate websites and seriously restrict free speech and activity on the internet.
This is why these bills need to be opposed, not just online but also taken up in Occupy movements and campaigns for civil liberties — or indeed by any organisation with an interest in keeping the internet free from government censorship and control.
[Visit www.fightforthefuture.org for more information on SOPA and PIPA, and the campaign against them.]
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