What people don’t understand is that the US government does not own the internet, so they cannot control and/or close down a non-US website… period…

Americans think they control everything, but they don’t… The internet will continue as it always has, and if the US government doesn’t like how it works then they can regulate it in the USA, but that’s all…

Bill

I think google is right on and when more realize this they will follow.

I think the whole way the authorities are going about battling illegal downloading is crazy and behind the times. Why not work with the downloaders instead.

How about the movie giants releasing movies to the download sites with an option to pay a small fee say a dollar or a pound each download. Download sites are awash with rubbish files and crappy quality moves and even viruses and the downloader has to usually go to the trouble of downloading the whole file (usually large) to find this out. Then there is the ever present threat of being caught and fined or worse.

Downloaders are of course breaking the law but they are still movie fans and would prefer a good quality move than a bad one.

Just imagine two files (both large remember) one may work, might be bad quality with speech out of sinc etc and you may get a nice fine

Or

The other is guaranteed good quality and no fine but costs a small fee

No brainer which to go for BUT the fee would need to be small. Yes movies cost millions to make but you would still have cinema sales (lots of downloaders still see the movie at the cinema) and DVD sales and you would have an EXTRA line of income from the millions of downloaders out there, plus maybe the movie companies could even save some money as they would not have to go after so many people through the courts.

As far as I am aware this is an international webzine.

Could we be a little less US-centric and say

“the US government”

rather than

“the government”

its irritating to an international audience. I know its the most powerful government in the world but its not the ONLY government in the world.

Thanks Jon

Let’s face simplicity here. Piracy is arguably about two things, financial gain and kudos for the site-owners. Take the both of them away and you’re half way there. The author is right, you will never beat these people by closing in on countries, this is a big old world.

Why not pour some of the vast profits made by the big 5 who inadvertently help these perpetrators by allowing their links thus wares to be found work on an algorithm that can actually be built into software such as windows and others to intercept the code required for an illegal download to take place?

Just a simple view from a simple observer. Is this even possible? I don’t know. All I know is that chasing them the way they are right now is like a puppy chasing its tail, it will never catch it.

Piracy is a widespread disease,and it will be very difficult to contain and check its spread.

These mega corporations have not kept up with technology over the years and as a result are completely helpless to protect the piracy of their content. In fact they always have been, since the days of bootleg audio and video cassettes were being sold on street corners, which of course is still going on. So instead of innovating and coming up with new ways to deliver and protect their content they want to create irresponsible and unclear laws that will have no real effect except to allow them to create a new stream of income by suing third parties who are not involved in the pirating in any way. What’s next: Are they going to sue the city of New York for all the counterfeit goods sold on its city streets? No matter which side you are on regarding this topic, two things are indisputable: 1.) This bill will do nothing to stop internet piracy except drive piracy innovation. 2.) The foreign pirates responsible will not be held accountable in any way.

It really is how it is written, shoot first ask questions later. If you leave it up to record companies and movie studios then I wouldn’t be surprised if actual reviews of a movie containing the movie name weren’t safe. And that is disturbing.

Don’t be deceived into thinking this is all about music or fairness in anything. Piracy on the internet is no more controllable than the drug traffic coming into the US. It’s a first step to establish a control mechanism that will be expanded…guaranteed. The political left has been talking about controlling the internet for years. It’s easier to control broadcast news, a finite number of people. The internet is too big, so they need a control mechanism. This is the beginning of it. They can only affect the US, that’s all they want for now, in the US. I say no to any of it. Bad idea.

I believe that what Google is trying to do to keep the internet free of this “governed Internet” is a good thing for proper growth of the Internet and Internet businesses.

The 0bama Admin. doesn’t have the “brass’ to stand-up to the “perps” like China, Russia, etc. and sometimes I wonder whose side that “czarist” Admin. is really on. They’d rather screw the U.S. companies and content creators than upset the outside money flowing into their re-election campaign and misguided “green” schemes.
If Google, AOL, eBay, Facebook, and Yahoo want the “right” input to meet the “right” ears they have to pony-up the “right kind of green”.
It’s always “follow the money”.