Going back to the SOPA skirmish, you had folks attempting to conflate IP infringement with everything from faulty lugnuts in Apache helicopters that make them fall out of the sky to tainted baby formula. This approach is also employed in international trade negotiations like ACTA and TPP. Youll notice that the official statements from Attorney General Hoods quarters make use of this tactic: its those tireless AGs who care for the welfare and safety of their constituencies, etc. Of course, the internet freedom fighters pretty much fall over themselves to make everything the new SOPA to the extent that when the new SOPA actually arrives, its like the boy who cried wolf. Theres a difference between vigilance and intellectual dishonesty. Likewise, not everything is censorship. But this is where the technical understanding and a familiarity with the first amendment comes in handy where remedies are being debated. Because, while its true that certain types of communication do not enjoy free speech protections, the methods and mechanisms through which those exceptions are applied can have tremendous ramifications for other kinds of speech which are protected. Yesterday I put forward the notion that these are the trench war maneuvers of large corporations vying for control over the 21st century distribution ecosystem, and that whichever side prevails, it is the smaller content creator and developer that has to do business on their terms. These corporations—on whichever side—are now media and data companies. Period and full stop.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:19:37 +0000