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A Free Internet, If You Can Keep It

Posted by Soulskill on from the you-can-keep-it-but-you're-in-charge-of-feeding-it dept.

Kethinov writes "My Congresswoman, Zoe Lofgren, a prominent opponent of the infamous Stop Online Piracy Act, has introduced two bills to the U.S. House of Representatives designed to protect the free and open internet, expand the protections of the Fourth Amendment to digital communications, and protect against the introduction of any further SOPA-like bills. Since these are issues Slashdotters care deeply about, I wanted to open up the bills for discussion on Slashdot. The bills are: ECPA 2.0 and the Global Free Internet Act. Is my Congresswoman doing a good job? Is there room for improvement in the language of the bills? If you're as excited by her work as I am, please reach out to your representatives as well and ask them to work with Rep. Lofgren. It will take a big coalition to beat the pro-RIAA/MPAA establishment politics on internet regulation."

5 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Still hope for the US. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As a euroboy I can only urge you Americans to support politicans like this. Your political system seems bent and broken to me but this is a glimmer of hope at least. Keep fighting for your freedoms, they seem to dictate the direction the rest of us get herded.

    1. Re:Still hope for the US. by Joce640k · · Score: 5, Insightful

      People here care about this stuff, but it is not even on the radar of most politicians.

      The point is you now have an official chance to get it on their radar. I hope you're not going to let it pass.

      --
      No sig today...
    2. Re:Still hope for the US. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      As an American I would ask Europeans to please not tell Americans you support this. In fact, it'd really help if you come out strongly against this. Say Americans have to conform to the world view or something like that. Basically say whatever you'd normally say about the environment but replace the environment with Internet censorship. Thanks.

    3. Re:Still hope for the US. by SirGarlon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As Winston Churchill reputedly once put it, "America can always be relied upon to do the right thing ... after exhausting all the alternatives."

      It took me about two decades of voting and following US politics to appreciate the full meaning of that. How can something simultaneously fill me with pride and exasperation? (I'll guess find out when I have kids.)

      --
      [Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
    4. Re:Still hope for the US. by dinfinity · · Score: 5, Informative

      Wrong. As of 2011, US public debt was at >100% of its GDP, almost putting it in the top ten:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_public_debt

      If you look at external debt, it's a different picture:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_external_debt

      If you cancel out what all the countries owe each other, it becomes even more interesting:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_international_investment_position