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US Government Domain Seizures Failing Miserably
ktetch-pirate writes "Operation In Our Sites, a US Government-led domain seizure action to deal with piracy, is pretty much a failure. TorrentFreak has examined a significant number of sites that have gone on pretty much unhindered, despite the seizures. Already some questions have been asked about the constitutionality of the seizures, and the evidence used as justification, but it seems the end results weren't as good as boasted either."
When the government does it, that means that it is not illegal.
In summary, what this article seems to be saying is, "The lobbyists are not doing a good enough job of pushing for pan-governmental Internet control."
You should also check out just how free the states were 150 years ago from Federal control.
But this is Internet speed.
Give it 15 years.
Of course it's a failure. Everyone I know went from using Rojadirecta.com to Rojadirecta.es to watch soccer games online. Not a problem at all.
I don't have a sig.
As if they care about actual results. The people behind this will commission their own review with their own predetermined successful results when they're ready to ask for more funding.
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
The practice of seizure of land, cash and other assets based only on suspicion of connection with illegal drugs is still going on to this day. It is riddled with constitutional problems and yet here we are, decades later, the practice still going on.
The airport screening efforts, though more "formalized" only exposes the stupidity of the whole thing. By most definitions, a failure but it continues.
It's nice to identify things as not working, but it has to be admitted to be a failure by the people who made it happen and then stopped. It is not a failure as it represents to the public "we are doing the best we can" so that the question "why didn't you try something?" gets asked, they can point to this -- failure or not -- as an attempt to "do something."
I remember back in the day when you had to hang out in IRC channels and share FTP warez server lists. Maybe it'll revert back to that.
- Violation of the right to due process: domain owners who are victim of the US government are not given explanations and they are expected to prove their innocence if they want their domain back. Not only is this unfair, but whatever country you live in you really do need to worry when your government rapes its Constitution and laws and decides it can do as it pleases. On top of this, it created a huge loophole where those seizures could be used to target specific people, businesses or websites for reasons those seizures were not made for.
- Too many errors, some very serious. Not only were innocent websites taken over, but some of them were outright falsely accused of hosting pedophile content - this damage is impossible to fix, even if a judge rules the accusation was a mistake your reputation will forever suffer from this.
- Taking over "US-owned" domains failed miserably - foreign 'illegal' websites were still doing fine (as the present article says)
- Taking over domains was inconsistent and arbitrary: some were prime targets while others were ignored for no apparent reasons. I don't know about the USA but many countries require the authorities to treat crime equally and logically. In those countries more serious offenders can get priority, but it would not be OK to seize a domain because the website hosted one song while another websites that hosts thousands of songs is ignored. Selective Justice should not happen, everyone must respect the same laws and must respect them equally.
Please. Most if not all of that "two trillion" dollars is caused by megacorps like GE avoiding their taxes. The system only works if everyone plays by the rules, and blaming all the damage caused on some children stealing media they wouldn't be otherwise able to afford anyway is a pretty pathetic attempt to pass the buck and you know it.
You want citations?
Read any of Radley Balko's reporting on the War on Drugs (the "Studies" section of that page is a good place to start).
Reason Magazine has a number of articles on how asset forfeiture laws let cops seize things from innocent people and keep them (or auction the things to buy new toys), and how little traction the victims of the seizures get from the legal system.
If you would like more general examples, read this book.
Quite insightful, sir. Too bad it's posted on a site where people will defend every last government program from spending cuts until the entire country is bankrupt.
"Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
--- Jerry Garcia
You see, when kids grow up playing Whack-a-mole at such places, the game plays with limited run time, and if they whack enough moles before the time runs out, they win some tickets or whatever. This gives a false impression that whack-a-mole is a game worth playing, and these kids grow up to be politicians.
It needs to be changed, for the good of mankind. The game should run forever and never give out prizes, and the moles should laugh at the player, like the dog from Duck Hunt. Kids should be allowed to walk up to it and whack moles until they get tired. It will teach an important life lesson, and also serve as a little entertainment for the less wealthy kids who couldn't afford too many tokens (which again, will help prepare them for their adulthood of working a long boring grind for the reward of merely supporting their current lifestyle).
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel