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EFF To Japan: Reject Website Blocking (eff.org)

Posted by BeauHD on from the poor-execution dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation: The latest country to consider a website blocking proposal is Japan, and EFF has responded to the call for comment by sharing all the reasons that cutting off websites is a terrible solution for copyright violations. In response to infringement of copyrighted material, specifically citing a concern for manga, the government of Japan began work on a proposal that would make certain websites inaccessible in Japan. In response to Japan's proposal, EFF explained that website blocking is not effective at the stated goal of protecting artists and their work. First, it can be easily circumvented. Second, it ends up capturing a lot of lawful expression. Blocking an entire website does not distinguish between legal and illegal content, punishing both equally. According to numerous studies, the best answer to the problem of online infringement is providing easy, lawful alternatives. Doing this also has the benefit of not penalizing legitimate expression the way blocking does. According to The Japan Times, the "emergency measure" would "encourage [ISPs] to restrict access to such 'malicious' websites 'on a voluntary basis' in order to protect the nation's famed manga and anime industries from free-riders."

41 comments

  1. EFF priorities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The EFF seems to have spent way more time ensuring that we can get access to pirated materials over the last 20 years than it has constraining the behavior of the five big tech companies. If they hadn't been so interested in ensuring that I was able to download Game of Thrones, maybe they could have done something more about Google and Facebook's rampant siphoning of personal data. Of course lets face it, the EFF doesn't want to bite that the hand that feeds them and while we concentrate on the distracting issue of whether we can still pirate stuff, the EFF's sponsors can get away with ensuring that they have us by the nadgers

    1. Re:EFF priorities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Defending freedom often means defending scoundrels." It's a price to be paid.

      Defending the pirates is also a requirement of privacy. The easiest thing for governements to do is mandate only approved software and websites can be used by the general public, and build the hardware to enforce those restrictions on an unwilling public. If you think that won't be abused to cover other things the government doesn't like, you are one deluded individual. The equation is simple: If you can't access, or run, the tools needed to protect your privacy, you will certainly lose it. Therefore anything that can threaten that ability is a target.

      And before you say, "They could ban these bad corporate practices and make defending the pirates unnecessary." That's not going to happen anytime soon for two reasons:

      1. The corps make loads of money by invading your privacy and selling anything they can get to the highest bidder. They won't give up those profits without a fight, and in the case of some online platforms, giving up privacy invasions would mean ceasing operations and bankruptcy filings. In addtion to that, we have a lot of people who will then turn around and claim: "No one cares about privacy." Even here on /. Go look at any thread where privacy is a focus. Heck, this one will probably get hit too given enough time. Until you deal with those people, that fight against the corps to reclaim your privacy hasn't even started.

      2. The other problem is even if you did ban those bad corporate practices, you would still have an avenue for abuse from the various governments of the world. The media industry isn't the only industry that would love the right to veto any improvement or advancement that could potentially upset the established players. Every industry wants that because upsets hurt profits. You can bet they'd lobby hard to get those rights if governments could just prohibit you from commuicating with like minded others, or prevent you from doing any development at the push of a button. Heck, set ups become ridiculously easy: "Oh, but his computer, that we totally didn't use any government backdoor on, said he had Child Pornography on it! See the security chip says he put it on there, and as we all know that the security chip is never wrong and can't be hacked." Want unremovable governement approved spyware preloaded and running from ROM at boot? You got it. North Korea already does it, and is a prime example of why this kind of crap shouldn't be allowed. Also given preloaded government approved spyware, and a ban on private collection, it makes the government the sole clearing house for private data. Exchanging hands with favors and bribes behind closed doors. Every politician would assert that any allegations of privacy invasion would be a violation of such bans, and no politician would ever allow that to happen. Or rather, that any serious allegations would be found out before they could be made and dealt with under wraps thanks to their marked cards in your hand.

      The first problem is fixable, the second one isn't. Decrying the EFF for defending pirates while complaining that they don't do enough to protect privacy, is counter-productive.

    2. Re:EFF priorities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Instead of addressing the point, the editor initiates an personal attack? And brings in an off-topic Trump to boot?

      Not so super mod, IMO.

    3. Re:EFF priorities by GuB-42 · · Score: 1

      EFF's goal is not to constraint the big five, at least not directly. In fact, they goal is to make sure constraints are kept to a minimum.

      The big five are powerful, they can negotiate with governments to be included in their white list (even though they sometimes serve pirated content...). Smaller sites, not so much. By making sure access is unrestricted, it gives competitors to the big five a better chance. Same idea for DRM. DRM is an anti-piracy measure but it can also be used for vendor lock in. For example eBooks bought on Kindle are only available on the Amazon platform.

  2. Good luck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given japan has kept their hilariously dumb and pointless censorship laws* for decades, I don't think I'd put much money on them listening to the EFF in this case.

    *this was at least partially our fault, as far as I know.

  3. wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    wow toko mesin

  4. Japan to EFF: "Who The Heck is The EFF?" by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 0, Troll

    Seriously. Has there ever been a more contrived or self-absorbed organization than the EFF? They lost their way when they moved out of D.C....

    1. Re:Japan to EFF: "Who The Heck is The EFF?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Who the hell are you.

    2. Re:Japan to EFF: "Who The Heck is The EFF?" by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 1

      Ask me that when I issue a press release about my recommended website blocking guidelines.

    3. Re:Japan to EFF: "Who The Heck is The EFF?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is a news blurb about the Electronic Frontier Foundation fighting for Internet Freedom. I don't see how they have, 'Lost their way'. Who the fuck hates on the EFF? The whole organization was started by the inventor of the Personal Computer. That's like hating on Henry Ford, or Nikola Tesla.

    4. Re:Japan to EFF: "Who The Heck is The EFF?" by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      someone with more posts on slashdot than the EFF

    5. Re:Japan to EFF: "Who The Heck is The EFF?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, cause slashdot posts matter IRL. Not.

    6. Re:Japan to EFF: "Who The Heck is The EFF?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh such posts he has yes such. Anyone can can slag off arbitrary "non profit x" while sitting on their arse posting on slashdot, it's not really the same as actually trying to do it yourself though is it.

    7. Re:Japan to EFF: "Who The Heck is The EFF?" by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

      Um... This is kind of the raison d'être of the organization. What exactly did you think they did?

      Note: I disagree with them fairly often, but on balance, I think the world is better off with them around to tackle the digital issues that most lay-people don't understand or may not even hear about.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    8. Re:Japan to EFF: "Who The Heck is The EFF?" by shanen · · Score: 1

      Since you [iggymanz] were joking in response to an AC I think you should have quoted the original to get the funny mods you deserved. Too bad Slashdot doesn't have a capacity to express "witty". Perhaps as a two- or three-dimension combination? (And of course moot to me, as one of the record-holders for no mod points to give.)

      --
      Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
  5. Back in the Bottle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The internet genies is being put back in the bottle by big corporations, and it is computer nerd's fault.

    We've had two decades to build a truly free, decentralized, uncorporatized, uncontrollable network. Instead we have spent the best part of two decades wasting time on technologies like CA backed encryption which have actually become tools of central control(see SciHub), and of course, apps, apps, apps, and more walled garden, restricted device apps, that are eroding the concept of a generally browsable web altogether. I have yet to see a phone app that can rival the functionality of an ordinary webpage or IRC client circa 2006.

    The focus on "standards" and "interoperability" has simply led to the creation of consequence free "frameworks", which have bloated the average webpage to a scale beginning to rival OS kernels in both size and code complexity, all while tearing open users browser to a literal panopticon of private and government surveillance. Technologies like tor, DHT, freenode are in their infancy or niche or all but abandoned. It did not have to be like this.

    Worst of all, such has been the shift to "cloud" based development, even basic computer programs like wordprocessers and spreadsheet are actually migrating online, taking user's freedom and agency with them. As bad a MSOffice ever was, I am shocked by how readily people are embracing the unresponsive, feature deprived excuses for "applications" that are being heralded as some kind of forward step.

    Computer nerds, developers, geeks, the internet at large, forgot the idea of the Personal Computer. We've abdicated the digital revolution to the control of the same corrupt conglomerates who drove its creation in the first place. Bram Cohen bought the internet 20 years, and we have squandered it.

    1. Re:Back in the Bottle by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      We have built a free, decentralized and uncontrollable network. But we won't make the mistake twice to let the masses in and destroy it again. You were threatened by the free internet we gave you and you let the government in to control it. So be it. But now you get to live in it. You wanted a nanny instead of learning to fend for yourself, now live with it.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Back in the Bottle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Har har stupid nerd. "You" never built anything. "We" tha paying customers are the vast majority and we like things the way they're going. If this fills you with rage and despair it's just a plus. "You" won't build anything. You lack the abilities and the means. Got it, shit nerd, or will we carve on your face after taking a dump onto it?

    3. Re:Back in the Bottle by ISayWeOnlyToBePolite · · Score: 1

      We have built a free, decentralized and uncontrollable network. But we won't make the mistake twice to let the masses in and destroy it again. You were threatened by the free internet we gave you and you let the government in to control it. So be it. But now you get to live in it. You wanted a nanny instead of learning to fend for yourself, now live with it.

      And I gave y'all the paper clip!

    4. Re:Back in the Bottle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's because nerds and geeks are basically autistic. The excel in one specific field (technology, software), but are stupendously incompetent in every other field (public relations, marketing, politics, economics, etc) that is absolutely indispensable to not only build, but maintain and protect a free, decentralized, uncorporatized, uncontrollable network.

      It's like these nerds that came up with this idea of "one laptop per child". When I first read about this a few decades ago I not only shook my head, I banged it repeatedly on my desk. I just couldn't believe that someone supposedly intelligent and educated could be so moronic as to believe for even one second that such a ludicrous project, completely disconnected from the most basic reality of human nature, had even a minuscule chance in hell of success.

    5. Re: Back in the Bottle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you have self destructive tendancies and blame autistic people?

      Just go all the way and bash you head through the table next time. You need the psyche hold and evaluation,

    6. Re:Back in the Bottle by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      And we thank you for building your prison and financing our freedom.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  6. Don't share clearly illegal content by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I see no value in allowing sites like Mangafox to persist on the net. Are there gray areas, sure. Is having an inherent distrust of government to the point where you don't believe any scheme is possible where they can be trusted to make a decision to block websites being silly, unless you are an anti-copyright free speech absolutist? Definitely.

    1. Re: Don't share clearly illegal content by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stop! Stop! Winny Upload!
      Stop! Stop! Winny Upload!
      Stop! Stop! Winny Upload!

  7. Website blocking works, the data is coming in by sickre · · Score: 0

    From Australia:

    A court-ordered blocking of 59 illegal sites has significantly reduced the level of online film and TV piracy in Australia, according to a new study.

    Traffic to blocked sites has been reduced by 53 per cent while the overall level of piracy has fallen by 25 per cent year-on-year.

    https://www.if.com.au/online-p...

    1. Re:Website blocking works, the data is coming in by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, that went to -1 fast.

    2. Re:Website blocking works, the data is coming in by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Looks like a useless study in that it doesn't measure piracy, only traffic to websites that the study monitored. Of course blocking some of those websites should reduce the traffic to them, but that doesn't mean that people aren't going to other websites that aren't being monitored or aren't getting their pirated media in other ways.

      Of course if your study showed that blocking websites did fuck all in terms of preventing piracy it would be a lot harder to justify doing it.

    3. Re:Website blocking works, the data is coming in by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I pirated more after my country finally pushed me to using a VPN.

    4. Re:Website blocking works, the data is coming in by KingBenny · · Score: 1

      you want a useful study ? https://gizmodo.com/the-eu-sup... SO useful they hid it , SO useful a MEP had to invoke their own laws on data disclosure and free information against them (yea ofcourse pirate party, who else would go against lobbyright these days?) thats how useful it was and it will very likely confirm mafiaa and breinbaf worst nightmares : the only ones losing money are the ones sponsoring the copyright trolls because it barely makes a dent compared to all the lawyer and troll money thrown at it, its not about sounds business, its about competitive psychopaths and their need to "win" even if its against all reason back when the world was young i had the silly idea if you do business you scrap that what costs you more than that what gets you, otherwise you're closer to an NGO (but i always had weird ideas) on top of that : https://torrentfreak.com/japan... https://www.japantimes.co.jp/n... while https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu... https://torrentfreak.com/inter... most people here think anime is cartoons is pokemon shall i rest my case, because its pointless, clearly, like the whole intellectual and expert world advising against internet filtering and then they vote PRO

      --
      Free speech was meant to be free for all... how can anyone grow up in a nanny state ?
  8. Block malware sites/ads/malscript... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject & via APK Hosts File Engine 2.0++ 64-bit for Linux h t t p : / / a p k . i t - m a t e . c o . u k / A P K H o s t s F i l e E n g i n e F o r L i n u x . z i p (remove spaces between characters & download).

    Yields more security/speed/reliability/anonymity vs. any SINGLE solution (99% of threats use hostnames vs. IP addresses most firewalls use) more efficiently/FASTER + NATIVELY 4 less!

    (Vs. "Bolt on 'MoAr' illogic-logic" competitors slowing you, hosts speed you up 2 ways (adblocks + hardcodes u spend most time @) vs. competition loaded w/ security bugs (DNS/AntiVir) + overheads (messagepass ('souled-out' to advertiser addons) + filtering drivers) & their complexity leads to exploitation).

    * ONLY 1 of its kind in GUI on Linux!

    Better vs. Windows model in speed/efficiency/merge.

    APK

    P.S.=> Best program of its kind bar-none & better vs. browser addons + other competitors (full of bugs, excess resource use, slowdown & complexity)... apk

    1. Re:Block malware sites/ads/malscript... apk by themusicgod1 · · Score: 1

      Malware links on slashdot. Now I've seen everything.

      --
      GENERATION 26: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
  9. Registered /.ers review of the Win64 model by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Your software is just fine - well written, functional... I'm going to continue using the Host File Engine by mmell February 17, 2017

    Your premise that hostfiles are a good way to deal with advertising and malvertising is quite valid - by JazzLad April 20, 2016

    his hosts program is actually pretty good by xenotransplant August 10 2015

    his hosts tool is actually useful for those cases in which one does indeed want to locally block stuff outright while consuming minimum system resources by alexgieg September 25 2015

    I like your host file system by Karmashock September 09 2015

    that APK guy, I use his host file by rogoshen1 Tuesday March 03, 2015

    I personally use a HOSTS file blocker produced from a genius called APK by 110010001000 October 27 2017

    * Best part = Linux 64-bit model's faster/more efficient (2x work & 1/2 the time)

    APK

    P.S.=> For a faster/safer/more reliable internet... apk

  10. Not really a problem if it's done fairly by Solandri · · Score: 3, Interesting

    1. The same rules apply to everyone. Media companies don't get a free passdon't get a free pass just because they own a lot of copyrighted content.

    2. The company(ies) requesting the block have to financially compensate the blocked website if it's later discovered that their claim of copyright violation was in error. Unlike is currently done under the DMCA where media companies regularly claim copyright violation on YouTube videos and get them defended. And when the person who posts the video is finally able to prove that there was no copyright violation, the media companies only have to say "oopsies, sorry."

    If you follow these common-sense guidelines, you'll quickly find that the problem with blocking websites for repeated copyright violations is that the websites which feature large amounts of media (e.g. news sites, art/photo sharing sites, etc) are the ones which get accused of copyright violation the most. And you'll conclude that an outright ban based on a handful of accusations ends up hurting some of the most useful sites disproportionately.

    1. Re:Not really a problem if it's done fairly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck you. I don't agree to the surrender of my rights to please anyone else. If you want to give up your rights go install an anti-piracy filter on your computer. Copyright is an immoral drain on free expression and should be eliminated. I am part of a team that produces content and have produced content for a very long time. I do have a tip jar and appreciate every tip. I have a business that is built off content as well, but again, I don't get angry because people download content from my company without paying for. We release the sources under licenses that permit redistribution and I wouldn't have it any other way (the debate I'd prefer to have is GPL vs extermination of copyright as technically free software licenses are based on copyright even if they are a hack to do what copyright was sold to the people as or for- that is it was sold as a means to promote the arts and sciences for the benefit of the public- after 7 years we are suppose to be able to share content freely- but Disney & Hollywood have put a stop to that). So fuck those who would use violence and theft on others who disagree to achieve financial profit.

  11. The EFF has gone insane by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Every negative quality associated with the NRA, you can see emerging within the EFF.

  12. LOL. Yankie #GDPR hypocrits. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    To be fair - most US companies have decided to deal with #GDPR by blocking EU visitors. That, of course, simply raises a #RedFlag that they have something to hide.

  13. Fear and loathing and censorship in Las Japan by shanen · · Score: 1

    Gee, I wish I could say something substantive on this topic without revealing my sources. It's not just the censorship, but the self-censorship related to the fear of being punished and the loathing of divergent opinion. Yeah, I'm averse to conflict, but I got nothing on the the Japanese at the systemic level. Or perhaps I should describe it as the level of the mob?

    The evidence I wish I could tell you about involves the internal workings of certain Japanese universities as manifested in their computer-system usage guidelines and policies for their students. I think the result is fundamentally antagonistic to creative or innovative thinking, but I feel that I can't say anything just now. I'm not afraid of the Japanese police, but that's because my Japanese wife would kill me first. (Is that a joke?)

    The only approach I can think of whereby I might be able to help advance the discussion is to offer to confirm your evidence or to agree with your hypotheses when they agree with mine... That way it isn't really my fault? However that approach is not viable in the context of Slashdot.

    The original story? The EFF? They are SO clueless about Japan that it has to make me laugh. The EFF is an excellent example of how good intentions and charity mix poorly. Or maybe not, if you disagree with some of their intentions? I generally regard Libertarians as incredibly naive on their best days.

    --
    Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
  14. Advice to Japan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Kick out all foreigners before they pollute your culture and divide your country in half along religious and political beliefs.

  15. WRONG: My program stops malwares... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WRONG: My program stops malwares & here are 2 proofs of it vs. botnets/malwwares https://it.slashdot.org/commen... + https://it.slashdot.org/commen... dumbass...

    * You've done better?

    (Those 2 recent examples are ONLY 2 of many 100's I can put out proving hosts work to nullify malware of MANY kinds easily & natively)

    APK

    P.S.=> Of course, the question I ask above is purely rhetorical (as I KNOW you haven't done BETTER yourself - "ne'er-do-wells" behind FAKE NAMES hiding like ANTIFA douchebags are useless)... apk

  16. Leave it to Japan to make the wrong choice by iq145 · · Score: 1

    http://www.newser.com/story/16... & http://www.newser.com/story/25... & http://www.newser.com/story/24...