Slashdot Mirror
"Irish SOPA" Signed Into Law Despite Resistance
First time accepted submitter cupantae writes "Despite the protests of over 80,000 Irish people, Junior Minister Seán Sherlock has confirmed that the controversial statutory instrument that reinforces online copyright laws in Ireland has been signed into law. The statutory instrument will make it possible for copyright holders to seek court injunctions against companies such as internet service providers or social networks whose systems are hosting copyright-infringing material. This comes in the wake of the music industry bullying the Irish government."
Time to see a rehash of the London riot, Irish style?
They must have taken that decision after a few pints of Guinness...
No, just a junior minister who wants t become a senior minister. Having heavy pockets like those behind his campaigns will certainly help getting that little blister re-elected.
Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
Now check his bank account for a mahusive cash deposit.....
What a shame it is that 90% of the public are so complacent and unwilling to take action to protect their rights from the goose-stepping content cartels.
Imagine if, even if just for a month, *nobody* bought any music from members of the RIAA, nobody went to any theatres to watch movies from the MPAA, or bought their DVDs or even hired their DVDs.
Can you just see the look of absolute fear that would envelope them?
Even if we could find enough people to reduce their sales and rentals by 50%, that would send a very strong message that perhaps, when it comes to copyright "it's better the devil you know [filesharing] than the devil you don't [boycotts]"
Unfortunately, any move to organize a campaign of abstinence or a boycott would be doomed to failure -- because most people just don't give a damn anyway.
We get the government (and the storm-trooper tactics) we deserve they say. Maybe they're right :-(
Sadly democracy relies on the bulk of the citizens actually keeping appraised of various issues, having the education and intelligence to really make an intelligent decision and then actually acting upon it by at least electing representatives that represent their opinions - and keeping a leash on them to ensure they don't waver from the path.
Most people don't care at all until a government does something they don't like - and by then its way too late.
They won't notice until someone abuses this legislation to take down some website they care about with no recourse, no warrant and no time in court.
Sad to see Ireland sell itself to the big Media corporations like this. So much for all the years of struggle for an independent Ireland.
"The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
Only a small fraction of the population is politically active enough to protest against something. Show me one protest that consisted of more than 50% of the population. That doesn't mean that the remaining 6120000 people would vote for the law in case of a referendum.
Don't forget that the public generally only knows about the things the media tells them about and -- in the list of SOPA sponsors there are a huge number of big media players -- all eager to use it to protect their content.
Hence, we've seen very little (if any) objective mainstream media coverage of SOPA and what it will mean to the average joe citizen.
Unfortunately, the real power to shape the minds and opinions of the masses lies in the hands of the likes of Rupert Murdoch and the other media barons.
We're stuffed mate!
The referendum will pass. If citizens make the wrong decision, they'll be asked again and again until they return the correct choice. The Irish will do their duty. It's a nation that lives to be dominated. They get rid of the English, only to replace them with the Vatican. Only recently have the Irish begun to question their Catholic masters, and now they'll allow bankers to run the show. The same political parties that fucked the country remain. Sherlock did thus because he knows that most people won't give a fuck. This law is nothing but harmful for a country looking to encourage hi-tech industry. Sherlock blames the EU, when its not even clear that the EU requires this provision. And putting such legislation through without debate? Yeah, way to represent your citizens, ÂSherlock.Â
Everything will be fine. The boys can have a few jars, sing some rebel songs, and perhaps believe that they deserve the country that better men fought for.Â
It's a sad day for the internet in Ireland. Yes there are ways around censorship, but the more governments try to control the internet the more they damage the whole point of it. Remember censorship is considered a fault by the internet and it automatically attempts to re-route the traffic. It will also affect jobs as no-one will want to set up a site based here, nor on Amazon's european cloud, which is based here, for fear they could be taken offline by some wide ranging vague complaint by rights holders, which we have already seen overstep their ability to actually remove actual content. Of course rather than remove content based in Ireland they will also attempt to block foreign content. Not ideal if you want to do business worldwide
"Bullying the government". I almost fell off my chair. Come on now. Are we really expected to buy that the outcome was the result of "bullying" rather than accepting a bribe?
Let's call a spade a spade here. When government accepts a bribe, government is 100% responsible. There is no benefit of doubt. There is no "but". Government holds the keys to oppression, not the music industry. Government has the guns.