kayaks ✍ angela shetler
Geekosystem has a fantastic post about the DMCA, how broken it is, how it’s frequently abused (with no consequences for the offenders), and how disastrous it would be if something like SOPA or PIPA were law, because it would certainly be abused in the same way, with much more serious consequences.
It’s almost funny, in a I-want-to-cry sort of way. SOPA and PIPA seem to be constructed on the premise that the DMCA had the right approach, but just isn’t strong enough. The fact of the matter is that DMCA has the wrong approach and is toopowerful. There’s evidence to back this up.
The main DMCA principle that SOPA and PIPA are building on is the takedown request. Under DMCA, anybody – anybody – can file a takedown request claiming that something on the Internet falls under their copyright and needs to be removed from wherever it is, typically YouTube. That’s all fine and dandy — good even — the problem is that there are no repercussions for filing a bogus takedown request, something that happens all the time.
Read on to see the examples he cites. I predict they will make your jaw drop.
In a leaked letter sent to Spain’s outgoing President, the US ambassador to the country warned that as punishment for not passing a SOPA-style file-sharing site blocking law, Spain risked being put on a United States trade blacklist . Inclusion would have left Spain open to a range of “retaliatory options” but already the US was working with the incoming government to reach its goals.
United States government interference in Spain’s intellectual property laws had long been suspected, but it was revelations from Wikileaks that finally confirmed the depth of its involvement. More than 100 leaked cables showed that the US had helped draft new Spanish copyright legislation and had heavily influenced the decisions of both the government and opposition.
In another media leak it’s now been revealed that American Chamber of Commerce in Spain chief Jaime Malet wrote a cautionary letter to incoming Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. He warned of the potential flight of foreign investment from Spain and urged him to take action on the protection of intellectual property once in office.
“[The law’s] lack of approval before the elections has been a blow to the country’s seriousness in this matter of such importance,” said Malet, while urging Rajoy to “to retrieve the consensus reached.”
Rajoy’s government quickly responded and fully implemented the legislation within 10 days of taking office.
It’s bad enough that the RIAA and MPAA are doing everything they can to destroy the Internet in America, but it’s just appalling that the American government is interfering with the domestic politics of other countries to help them destroy the Internet overseas.
