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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Young People Following SOPA. Old(er) People, Not So Much
Each week the Pew Research Center releases its News Interest Index examining the most followed stories in the US market.
Last week’s top stories were the sunken Italian cruise ship and the 2012 US elections.
SOPA also happened last week and it comes in at a somewhat respectable fourth (just after economic news stories). But what’s interesting is how it registered across age groups.
While just seven percent of people overall say they followed the SOPA debate, 23 percent of those under 30 surveyed say they followed news about the anti-piracy bill. That 23 percent is higher for this age group than any other news story.
Currently SOPA is off the table as lawmakers tinker with it to make it more “amenable” for re-introduction. As a congressional aid tells ReadWriteWeb, “I think, like anything else, if there’s not strong constituent opposition, it makes it easier for us to move forward on issues like this.”
Something to consider as older demographics largely ignore SOPA and other legislation affecting copyright.
(Source: futurejournalismproject)
The Power of the Internet.
There are few things I love in this world as much as the internet. I’m not ashamed of this love, nor do I think it is particularly unhealthy. It’s been in my life since I was 12 years old and outside of my family, its been my longest sustained relationship.
My friend the internet is having one hell of a week.
First we see the power of the virtual-protest. The ability for big-player websites like Wikipedia and Reddit to form a coalition against a poorly written domestic law. A law that attempted to meet the goal of combating online piracy with over-sweeping language (I like to use the analogy of it being akin to pulling all the cars off the road because they have the ability to go over the speed limit).
From this event something awe inspiring occurred. On every facebook page, twitter feed, tumblr blog, overheard in coffee shops and libraries, places of work and leisure, SOPA and PIPA were discussed. More than discussed, they were contested. With just one day of virtual protest the number of opposing congressmen went from 31 to 101.* While we saw the Arab Spring emerge from twitter and Occupy Wall St begin with a blog post, those acclaimed movements took to the streets. With this Blackout there were no marches or signs, it was just us and our computers.
Fast forward less than 24 hours and you have the FBI indicting Megaupload’s CEOs.** Whether this act is legitimate is up to debate, one that will be taken up in courts (in short, is the online intermediary responsible or the end-user?) The response to the indictment: Operation Megaupload by Anonymous. This fully displays the power of the internet. An abuse of that power? Maybe. But maybe not. It all depends on how they did it. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act prohibits intentionally accessing a protected computer, but it is silent on flooding a server…***
But I digress.
Seeing this evolution of the internet, from my first AOL account back in ‘98 to the events listed above, for the first time I truly see the internet as the wild wild west of the 21st century. Who knows what the next decade will bring for my friend the internet. The battle between copyright owners and infringers? A war against privitization? It’s a new Manifest Destiny, but this time we all participate, from behind our computer screens. And as we’ve seen, it’s a pretty powerful place to be.
*Newsweek-Behold! What the Stop SOPA blackout managed to accomplish in 24 hours.
**FBI Press Release available at http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/justice-department-charges-leaders-of-megaupload-with-widespread-online-copyright-infringement (but not right now because Anonymous said so)
***For the lawyer, see § 1030; For the laymen, see Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Behold! What the Stop SOPA blackout managed to accomplish in 24 hours.
Its quite interesting what a coalition of internet users can accomplish from behind their computer screens.
According to lawyers… (SOPA) doesn’t shut down your website and remove it from the Internet. It just makes it so that people cannot, in any way, access the website. So it’s sort of like coming up with a plan to prevent teen pregnancy that includes filling penises with cement.
JON STEWART, The Daily Show (via inothernews)
Bwah! Best way to describe it, really.
(via stillhidden)
(Source: purple-clovers)
SOPA lives—and MPAA calls protests an "abuse of power"
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has looked at tomorrow’s “Internet blackout” in opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)—and it sees only a “gimmick,” a “stunt,” “hyperbole,” “a dangerous and troubling development,” an “irresponsible response,” and an “abuse of power.”
“Wikipedia, reddit, and others are going dark to protest the legislation, while sites like Scribd and Google will also protest. In response, MPAA chief Chris Dodd wheeled out the big guns and started firing the rhetoric machine-gun style.
“Only days after the White House and chief sponsors of the legislation responded to the major concern expressed by opponents and then called for all parties to work cooperatively together, some technology business interests are resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their corporate pawns, rather than coming to the table to find solutions to a problem that all now seem to agree is very real and damaging.”
Can I interrupt for a moment? Thanks. When you complain that opponents didn’t “come to the table to find solutions”, do you mean that we didn’t give NINETY-FOUR MILLION DOLLARS to congress like the MPAA? Or do you mean that we didn’t come to the one hearing that Lamar Smith held, where opponents of SOPA were refused an opportunity to comment? Help me out, here, Chris Dodd, because I’m really trying hard to understand you.
“It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information and use their services. It is also an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today. It’s a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users in order to further their corporate interests.”
Oh ha ha. Ho. Ho. The MPAA talking about “skewing the facts to incite” anyone is just too much.
“A so-called “blackout” is yet another gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals.”
Except for the part where this is completely false, it’s a valid point.
“It is our hope that the White House and the Congress will call on those who intend to stage this “blackout” to stop the hyperbole and PR stunts and engage in meaningful efforts to combat piracy.”
Riiiiiiight. Protesting to raise awareness of terrible legislation that will destroy the free and open Internet is an abuse of power, but buying NINETY-FOUR MILLION DOLLARS worth of congressional votes is just fine.
I’m so disappointed in Chris Dodd. He was a pretty good senator, wrote some bills (like Dodd/Frank) that are genuinely helping people, and is going to be on the wrong side of every argument as head of the MPAA. What a wasted legacy.
And if anything it would supply more American jobs to find the end user that is actually infringing copyright law by downloading/streaming than to go after the sites that host the infringing material. I’m just saying.
The wave of online protests against two Congressional bills that aim to curtail copyright violations on the Internet is gathering momentum.
Wikipedia is the latest Web site to decide to shut on Wednesday in protest against the two Congressional bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act, often called SOPA, and the Protect IP Act, which is often called PIPA. The bills have attracted fierce opposition from many corners of the technology industry. Opponents say several of the provisions in the legislation, including those that force search engines and Internet service providers to block access to Web sites that offer or link to copyrighted material, would stifle innovation, enable censorship and tamper with the livelihood of businesses on the Internet.
Nearly 800 members of Wikipedia have been debating and voting whether the site should participate in a blackout since December.
Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, confirmed the site’s decision on Monday on Twitter, writing: “Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday!”
In a phone interview late Monday, Mr. Wales said that the Wikipedia community hoped to send a clear message to lawmakers and regulators in Washington that people who worked on the Internet and used it daily were not happy about the potential effects of the bills.
“What will make a difference is for ordinary people to pick up the phone and send an e-mail or a letter to their representatives about this,” he said. “When you consider the magnitude of how many people use Wikipedia globally, there is a potential here for really creating some noise and getting some attention in the U.S.”
The New York Times, “Wikipedia to Go Dark on Wednesday to Protest Bills on Privacy.”
Are we all doing this, Tumblr?
(via inothernews)
