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US Calls Switzerland An Internet Piracy Haven (torrentfreak.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The Office of the United States Trade Representative has published its annual Special 301 Report calling out other nations for failing to live up to U.S. IP enforcement standards. This year European ally Switzerland has been placed on the Watch List for protecting file-sharers and playing host to many pirate sites. "Generally speaking, Switzerland broadly provides high-levels of IPR protection and enforcement in its territory. Switzerland makes important contributions to promoting such protection and enforcement internationally, including in bilateral and multilateral contexts, which are welcomed by the United States," the USTR writes in its assessment.
is this something good for swiss business, or something bad?
I mean tax havens are doing great as well.
What, because they refused to bow down and enforce the US's laws in their territory? That's worthy of being placed on an international watchlist now - at the same level as Russia and China, no less?
"Set a man a fire, he'll be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
Yup. Just moved all my personal stuff to hostpoint.ch.
They give you free SSL, ssh access, and they need a warrant before they'll release anything, *and* they'll tell you if a warrant has been issued.
I've got nothing to hide. My life is disturbingly normal and boring, but it's the principle of the thing. I don't think government should rifle through every piece of my postal mail, and I don't think they should do the same to my email / digital data either.
Physicists get Hadrons!
That's all.
You are now a target.
Swiss and Slashdotters: We are shocked. Shocked!
Bittorrent: Your files, sir.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Corporate heaven?
Ok... couldn't resist... =D
Hey, I'm not a natural born citizen. I've *always* been a target. First thing they did was treat me like a criminal and force me to give them my fingerprints if I wanted a green card...
Physicists get Hadrons!
The days of making money on copies of music and movies is over. Fight it all you like, reality isn't going to change.
Having information available to the masses is a good thing. It is like we have a giant library. If your media is really worth money, giving it to the masses is like adding trillions into the economy all at once. You just need new business models to create stuff. I'm looking in the direction of kickstarter.
God spoke to me
Could you imagine having a job going through everyones internet traffic mostly ads peppered with lolcats, facebook, and candy crush.
Hey, I'm not a natural born citizen
and I, for one, welcome our synthe-sapien overlords.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
The title is misleading. "US calls "Switzerland..." implies "US population calls Swiss population...", which we all know didn't happen. The correct title of this article is "US government calls Swiss government..."
That is, unless you actually believe in the fairy tale that government and the people are one and the same.
Your status has been elevated to Bullseye!
Switzerland isn't Sweden as much as Indiana isn't India.
its means they are afraid of the extra freedom/rights your country affords you. That also means they are trying to take away those freedoms, like they took away from their own citizens. Best to just ignore them and let them squawk.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
You are now a target.
These days, if you are not a target, you really can not be trusted.
Welcome Switzerland, we were getting lonely and will enjoy the company on this prestigious list. We have been on it for years now and if our politicians would listen to the people they represent we would be much higher on the ranking.
FFS, the list pretty much says that the countries on the list wont completely bend over for the US. I think its time Canada reminds the US what happened in 1812, the last time they tried to invade our country.. its the same thing now, except the US is doing it through trade, I welcome anyone from the US to come visit and see how many sh!ts we give and if your all butt hurt about it you have my condolences. at least if we get butt hurt we can go to a doctor and get it checked out for free.
Piracy Heaven
People in Switzerland start to be really annoyed by the US behavior. More and more people now consider the US as a big bully. No surprise that more and more people even in Switzerland start to see Russia and China as valid partners (Switzerland even signed a free trade agreement with China). A quick example, the US forced Switzerland to automatically provide information on bank account but at the same is refusing to do the same. Regarding IP laws, any change will be fought by the people and it is certain that it will trigger a referendum. I think that the US will keep Switzerland on their black list for a very long time. Now it is no more a question of IP laws, it is a matter to oppose direct change of Swiss laws by a country that is less and less see a valid ally.
Switzerland != Sweden
Besides they might be right:
as a swiss citicen i call the" us and the a" an Internet Privacy Hell
I'd say it looks bad for the country. Hitler and his henchmen used the Swiss to stockpile all the stolen loot from W. W. II. It goes without saying, ...
The whole ideology of 'intellectual property' proposed by the Americans is unwelcome in Europe. The Americans need to understand that we do not share their greedy 'IP' maximalist agenda, and that we don't want it here. We should place the United States on a corporate totalitarianism watch list, and tell their corporate rulers where to stick their backward laws. I'd like to see patents abolished, and the reach and term of copyright significantly reduced. I hope more forward thinking countries like China will not pander to US blackmail and bullying.
Yeah you need to speak German, French or Italian.
News @ 11
Dude, we got treated like criminals as children, don't feel bad. We had a fingerprinting push when I was a kid, because "won't someone think of the children". Anyone who knows anything about the cops know that they dust for prints maybe 1% of the time that they might find some... no, sorry, way less than that. There is literally no chance whatsoever that this ever found a child. But they made sure to get us in their database...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Welcome Switzerland, we were getting lonely and will enjoy the company on this prestigious list. We have been on it for years now and if our politicians would listen to the people they represent we would be much higher on the ranking.
FFS, the list pretty much says that the countries on the list wont completely bend over for the US. I think its time Canada reminds the US what happened in 1812, the last time they tried to invade our country.. its the same thing now, except the US is doing it through trade, I welcome anyone from the US to come visit and see how many sh!ts we give and if your all butt hurt about it you have my condolences. at least if we get butt hurt we can go to a doctor and get it checked out for free.
Fair use rules!
Yes. If you're not in a watchlist you're a terrorist.
Unexpectedly profound.
Coming from a government that tries to force citizens the buy healthcare insurance at high rates, and charges a fee for not having something, I would say big banks, and their puppets like the U.S. government are the real pirates.
Thanks for the info. Where can I download a plane ticket to Switzerland?
Requiem for the American Dream
Glad someone thinks that the Net is not just a "Free" (as in paid for by users) carrier for profit-making entities that do NOT pay the costs of maintaining and expanding the distribution network.
If there is any reason for a net, it is the open distribution of material governments and corporate slime would rather you not have unless THEY decide you should.
...and I do not see any piracy here... actually I can't imagine someone here needing piracy: I'm earning a decent gage in Scandinavia and I learned that the maid in my hotel here in Switzerland earns 50% more and pays only about 20% of what i pay in tax...
Why should anyone in Switzerland by a pirate ?
Sweden ain't what it used to be, either. And that article's from 7 years ago. It's gotten worse now.
...is probably that the whole copyright shit is based on the Berne Convention.
Take a guess where Berne is. Hint: It's in the link.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Your status has been elevated to Bullseye!
A much smaller, harder-to-hit target?
So the exact opposite of the US watch list is "this country allows a lot of personal liberties on the internet". And "This country is bad for "American Big Content"(tm). And "The Disney States of America have a watchlist of countries which allow too many personal liberties on the internet". Pick any of those.
Get your own act togther and protect other countries assetts and IP in YOUR OWN country before making demands.
A piracy haven, in a country that doesn't touch the sea at all? That's rich :)
As a U.S.-naturalized Swiss, I feel very proud of this accomplishment by my native country.
Well done!!!
Now I hope the Swiss government will not cave in to whatever B.S. the U.S. comes up with and tell them to go f**k themselves.
I remember this. They were pushing it in the late 90's for all the elementary school kids. This was happening here in WV, the state that only has one lab for fingerprint processing, doesn't have one for DNA, and has something along the lines of 10 to 20 year backlog at that one lab. The only time fingerprints are even collected is in the case of murder coupled with the victim being very rich.