Megaupload closed down by the Feds.

Because if there's one thing America needs, its more government subsidise for bloated, malfunctioning industries.

Oh, I agree with you, but said subsidy IS preferrable to heavy-handed censorship, particularly if the end result of it is the decriminalization of piracy....
 
People could take your Tom petty fansite because you display pictures of TP which come from a video which you didn't buy the rights to reproduce and so on.
Right, & not just that, but if, say, CivFanatics had 10,986 posts on their site which contained a link to said unauthorized TP site, & they hadn't done anything to discourage it, then CivFanatics could go *poof* as well.

EDIT: And, not to throw stones in glass houses, if they had 251 unauthorized pictures of a Terry Pratchett character used as an avatar, *poof* again...
 
Right, & not just that, but if, say, CivFanatics had 10,986 posts on their site which contained a link to said unauthorized TP site, & they hadn't done anything to discourage it, then CivFanatics could go *poof* as well.

EDIT: And, not to throw stones in glass houses, if they had 251 unauthorized pictures of a Terry Pratchett character used as an avatar, *poof* again...

Exactly. This is why the government's current stance towards policing the internet makes me feel like my freedom is being threatened more than ever. There are some things that, while against the law, you just have to let slide. Internet piracy is one of those things.
 
I think most of agree piracy is wrong, its just frustrating for me that considering all the issues in the country that this is apparently high up on Washington's priority list right now, especially since the industry itself has done everything it can to make the problem worse. I think at the very least it shouldnt become such a priority until the entertainment industry takes action itself to improve its product (action not meaning meatball shakedowns in the form of lawsuits)
 
Dont worry. If SOPA/PIPA ever passes that's such a waste of money that the country will be too bankrupt to even think of enforcing it.

Haha. Yeah, right. Don't they have better things to think about than trying to take over the internet?

Sometimes I can't help being cynical...
 
As has been stated before, governments are fully capable of multitasking.
 
As has been stated before, governments are fully capable of multitasking.

I'm going to agree with aimeeandbeatles here: It's just impossible to enforce. Even if the US is technically able to take down YouTube, would they do it? Fat chance, since they've got too much too lose.
 
Oh, I agree that it's impossible to enforce and totally stupid, I'm just saying that it isn't going to take much away from other things the US government does.
 
If Megaupload was trying to profiteer off of pirating, they did a pretty lousy job of it.

The guy got caught with 11 million dollars worth of cars, a giant mansion (which armed policed had to hack into) and like 300 million in banks around the world. He was doing alright.
 
Hey I don't think anyone has mentioned how it was nz police that took the guy down.
They had to fly in by helicopter to his giant mansion. Which he then electronically locked and hid in his panic room with a shot gun.

Its all been a huge story over here.
 
The problem with SOPA/PIPA is not that they will be enforced.

The problem with SOPA/PIPA is that they will be enforced selectively.
 
Oh, I agree with you, but said subsidy IS preferrable to heavy-handed censorship, particularly if the end result of it is the decriminalization of piracy....
I wouldn't have thought that someone wearing your avatar would adopt the view that we're all going to be thoroughly buggered by corporate interests, and that our only choice is exactly how we permit them to go about it.
 
The guy got caught with 11 million dollars worth of cars, a giant mansion (which armed policed had to hack into) and like 300 million in banks around the world. He was doing alright.
I'm totally a fan of the "rich people are probably criminals" theory of law, but I don't think the RIAA wants to pursue that.
 
The guy got caught with 11 million dollars worth of cars, a giant mansion (which armed policed had to hack into) and like 300 million in banks around the world. He was doing alright.

But can they prove that all those assets came from revenue generated by Megaupload? I'm not trying to be antagonistic, I really want to know.
 
Hey I don't think anyone has mentioned how it was nz police that took the guy down.
They had to fly in by helicopter to his giant mansion. Which he then electronically locked and hid in his panic room with a shot gun.

Its all been a huge story over here.

Panic room?
 
Panic room?

A panic room is a sealed room that rich people put in their mansions in case of a robbery or home invasion attempt. It is supposed to allow them to contact the police and to hold out until the police arrive to deal with those invading the home. The room usually has surveillance equipment and some food, water and medical supplies.

This guy however used his panic room to try and hold out from the police.
 
How great would it have been if he'd used the phone to call some burglars?
 
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