Is It Now Illegal To Link To Other Websites? - GoFuckYourself.com

cspdinc · 12-27-2006, 02:22 AM

repost from newswire: but it raises some real issues.

Is It Now Illegal To Link To Other Websites?
Landmark Sydney legal ruling sets precedent for wholesale devastation of Internet news websites and blogs

A landmark legal ruling in Sydney goes further than ever before in setting the trap door for the destruction of the Internet as we know it and the end of alternative news websites and blogs by creating the precedent that simply linking to other websites is breach of copyright and piracy.

Following our report last month that an RIAA legal argument would, if the case was eventually won, criminalize simply making files available on the Internet, many readers scoffed at the serious implications of the case. Such a precedent would change the entire face of the Internet because "making files available" is so loosely defined it could criminalize simply placing links on ones website or blog to other websites.

Some accused us of yellow journalism and scaremongering yet the warning that the Elektra vs. Barker case could criminalize the very mechanism that characterizes the Internet was not concocted by Alex Jones or Paul Joseph Watson, it was a statement made by the very lawyer fighting the case, Ray Beckerman.

And that's exactly what has now happened in Sydney, where an Australian federal court has opened the door for simply linking to other websites to be classified as piracy.

A landmark ruling was upheld against Stephen Cooper, who ran a website which acted as search engine for locating and downloading MP3's not from his own website but from other MP3 download websites. Cooper was charged with piracy and his ISP is also being targeted for not shutting down his website quickly enough.

"Sabiene Heindl, general manager of Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) said the decision meant that anyone who stuck a link on MySpace or on their bogs could now expect a knock on the door from its briefs," reports the UK Inquirer.

And for those who dismiss the precedent as only applying to those who link to copyrighted MP3 files, consider this - Cooper was only doing the same thing as Google in providing a means of finding files on other website. The MIPI is also preparing to take action against Google in "other jurisdictions," meaning it is building a case to sue Google for linking to all manner of different files from its search engine hub.

If such a precedent becomes accepted, it would be the death knell for alternative websites like the one you're reading now and others, who primarily rely on linking to other sources in order to collate important news and information. It would also put an end to some of the biggest websites on the Internet such as Fark.com and the Drudge Report, which are both almost exclusively devoted to collecting the world's most interesting news and offering it to readers in one place, by linking to scores of different websites.

Under these terms only internal linking would be permitted, which would not significantly impact commercial powerhouses like Amazon.com but would effectively put an end to all blogs.

The skids are clearly being greased for the mandated introduction of Internet 2, a tightly controlled, surveilled and regulated cyberspace police state run solely by telecommunications giants in consort with the U.S. government and the United Nations. Net Neutrality campaigners are desperately trying to raise awareness to the dangers of this as legislation that will kill the Internet as we know it is on the brink of debate and passage in the first session of Congress early next year.

Earlier this year under the headline, The End of the Internet?, The Nation magazine reported,

"The nation's largest telephone and cable companies are crafting an alarming set of strategies that would transform the free, open and nondiscriminatory Internet of today to a privately run and branded service that would charge a fee for virtually everything we do online."

"Verizon, Comcast, Bell South and other communications giants are developing strategies that would track and store information on our every move in cyberspace in a vast data-collection and marketing system, the scope of which could rival the National Security Agency. According to white papers now being circulated in the cable, telephone and telecommunications industries, those with the deepest pockets--corporations, special-interest groups and major advertisers--would get preferred treatment. Content from these providers would have first priority on our computer and television screens, while information seen as undesirable, such as peer-to-peer communications, could be relegated to a slow lane or simply shut out."

Internet 2 is being billed as the next generation of the world wide web and it has already set global speed records in terms of data transfer, far outstripping the old Internet.

One of the fathers of the Internet, David Clark, who served as chief protocol architect for the government's internet development initiative in the 1980s, has been given $200,000 by the National Science Foundation to covertly work on a "whole new infrastructure to replace today's global network," according to Wired Magazine.

Clark has vowed to create a "brave new world" in designing the new Internet, characterizing what he wanted for the new network to be "a coherent security architecture."

Dovetailing the onset of Internet 2 are government propaganda campaigns to demonize the existing Internet as a wild backwater for hate crime, child pornography and a terrorist recruiting ground. We have detailed these moves at length in previous articles.

The last outpost of freedom of speech, the world wide web, is in the crosshairs of corporate lobbyists and big government control freaks, who are putting the finishing touches on the pincer attack plan that will put paid to the greatest technological revolution of the latter 20th century.

just a punk · 12-27-2006, 02:27 AM

Sounds like a bullshit.

Kimo · 12-27-2006, 02:33 AM

the british are coming

BusterBunny · 12-27-2006, 02:41 AM

http://www.riaa.com/default.asp

aico · 12-27-2006, 02:46 AM

Misleading article... linking to files on a website is not the same as linking to the website itself.

V_RocKs · 12-27-2006, 03:01 AM

Word... especially when said files are copy written...

Scottish Guy · 12-27-2006, 03:38 AM

.html and .php are still files that may be subject to copyright the article is from the land of upsidedown they have different laws than us, That law would never apply to me because we have human rights over here and freedom of speech and by banning us from linking to shit would be in breach of that.

P.S austrialia must suck

NemesiS876 · 12-27-2006, 03:45 AM

WTF ...I can't reed that much

4Man · 12-27-2006, 10:47 AM

that sucks!!!

RawAlex · 12-27-2006, 11:08 AM

Misleading for a bunch of reasons.

1) no court in Sydney is going to tell the internet how to run.
2) the links weren't to websites, but to specific music of movie files on a website, which were copyright material being illegally distributed
3) the person writing this article has the same technical knowledge as bush in my front lawn (it redid my networking last year... yeah right!)

Here's a news flash: You knowing link to illegal shit, guess what, it ain't any different from the real world where you put up a big sign in your front yard "GO NEXT DOOR THEY HAVE STOLEN DVD'S FOR FREE!".

Don't be fucking morons just because you think nobody can find you on the interweb net thing box.

DaddyHalbucks · 12-27-2006, 11:16 AM

It's a long standing legal principle that you cannot enable an illegal activity.

martinsc · 12-27-2006, 11:21 AM

too much to read for now...
will come back later....

Elli · 12-27-2006, 11:35 AM

A few interesting points, but definitely a bit over the top. Net Neutrality didn't have much opposition when it came to Canada, unfortunately.

http://www.neutrality.ca/

12-27-2006, 02:22 AM	#1
cspdinc Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: USA land of the oppressed Posts: 724	Is It Now Illegal To Link To Other Websites? repost from newswire: but it raises some real issues. Is It Now Illegal To Link To Other Websites? Landmark Sydney legal ruling sets precedent for wholesale devastation of Internet news websites and blogs A landmark legal ruling in Sydney goes further than ever before in setting the trap door for the destruction of the Internet as we know it and the end of alternative news websites and blogs by creating the precedent that simply linking to other websites is breach of copyright and piracy. Following our report last month that an RIAA legal argument would, if the case was eventually won, criminalize simply making files available on the Internet, many readers scoffed at the serious implications of the case. Such a precedent would change the entire face of the Internet because "making files available" is so loosely defined it could criminalize simply placing links on ones website or blog to other websites. Some accused us of yellow journalism and scaremongering yet the warning that the Elektra vs. Barker case could criminalize the very mechanism that characterizes the Internet was not concocted by Alex Jones or Paul Joseph Watson, it was a statement made by the very lawyer fighting the case, Ray Beckerman. And that's exactly what has now happened in Sydney, where an Australian federal court has opened the door for simply linking to other websites to be classified as piracy. A landmark ruling was upheld against Stephen Cooper, who ran a website which acted as search engine for locating and downloading MP3's not from his own website but from other MP3 download websites. Cooper was charged with piracy and his ISP is also being targeted for not shutting down his website quickly enough. "Sabiene Heindl, general manager of Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) said the decision meant that anyone who stuck a link on MySpace or on their bogs could now expect a knock on the door from its briefs," reports the UK Inquirer. And for those who dismiss the precedent as only applying to those who link to copyrighted MP3 files, consider this - Cooper was only doing the same thing as Google in providing a means of finding files on other website. The MIPI is also preparing to take action against Google in "other jurisdictions," meaning it is building a case to sue Google for linking to all manner of different files from its search engine hub. If such a precedent becomes accepted, it would be the death knell for alternative websites like the one you're reading now and others, who primarily rely on linking to other sources in order to collate important news and information. It would also put an end to some of the biggest websites on the Internet such as Fark.com and the Drudge Report, which are both almost exclusively devoted to collecting the world's most interesting news and offering it to readers in one place, by linking to scores of different websites. Under these terms only internal linking would be permitted, which would not significantly impact commercial powerhouses like Amazon.com but would effectively put an end to all blogs. The skids are clearly being greased for the mandated introduction of Internet 2, a tightly controlled, surveilled and regulated cyberspace police state run solely by telecommunications giants in consort with the U.S. government and the United Nations. Net Neutrality campaigners are desperately trying to raise awareness to the dangers of this as legislation that will kill the Internet as we know it is on the brink of debate and passage in the first session of Congress early next year. Earlier this year under the headline, The End of the Internet?, The Nation magazine reported, "The nation's largest telephone and cable companies are crafting an alarming set of strategies that would transform the free, open and nondiscriminatory Internet of today to a privately run and branded service that would charge a fee for virtually everything we do online." "Verizon, Comcast, Bell South and other communications giants are developing strategies that would track and store information on our every move in cyberspace in a vast data-collection and marketing system, the scope of which could rival the National Security Agency. According to white papers now being circulated in the cable, telephone and telecommunications industries, those with the deepest pockets--corporations, special-interest groups and major advertisers--would get preferred treatment. Content from these providers would have first priority on our computer and television screens, while information seen as undesirable, such as peer-to-peer communications, could be relegated to a slow lane or simply shut out." Internet 2 is being billed as the next generation of the world wide web and it has already set global speed records in terms of data transfer, far outstripping the old Internet. One of the fathers of the Internet, David Clark, who served as chief protocol architect for the government's internet development initiative in the 1980s, has been given $200,000 by the National Science Foundation to covertly work on a "whole new infrastructure to replace today's global network," according to Wired Magazine. Clark has vowed to create a "brave new world" in designing the new Internet, characterizing what he wanted for the new network to be "a coherent security architecture." Dovetailing the onset of Internet 2 are government propaganda campaigns to demonize the existing Internet as a wild backwater for hate crime, child pornography and a terrorist recruiting ground. We have detailed these moves at length in previous articles. The last outpost of freedom of speech, the world wide web, is in the crosshairs of corporate lobbyists and big government control freaks, who are putting the finishing touches on the pincer attack plan that will put paid to the greatest technological revolution of the latter 20th century. Last edited by cspdinc; 12-27-2006 at 02:22 AM.. Reason: text

12-27-2006, 02:27 AM	#2
just a punk So fuckin' bored Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 32,386	Sounds like a bullshit. __________________ Obey the Cowgod

12-27-2006, 02:33 AM	#3
Kimo ... Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Maryland ICQ:87038677 Posts: 11,542	the british are coming __________________ ...

12-27-2006, 02:41 AM	#4
BusterBunny perverted justice decoy Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: unborn still in the womb connected via blackberry Posts: 19,291	testing............... http://www.riaa.com/default.asp __________________ my sig caught gonoherpasyphilaids and died

12-27-2006, 11:16 AM	#11
DaddyHalbucks A freakin' legend! Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada USA Posts: 18,975	It's a long standing legal principle that you cannot enable an illegal activity. __________________ Boner Money

12-27-2006, 02:46 AM	#5
aico Moo Moo Cow Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Washington State Posts: 14,748	Misleading article... linking to files on a website is not the same as linking to the website itself.

12-27-2006, 03:01 AM	#6
V_RocKs Damn Right I Kiss Ass! Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Cowtown, USA Posts: 32,409	Word... especially when said files are copy written...

12-27-2006, 03:38 AM	#7
Scottish Guy So Fucking Banned Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Scotland Posts: 416	.html and .php are still files that may be subject to copyright the article is from the land of upsidedown they have different laws than us, That law would never apply to me because we have human rights over here and freedom of speech and by banning us from linking to shit would be in breach of that. P.S austrialia must suck

12-27-2006, 03:45 AM	#8
NemesiS876 Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,436	WTF ...I can't reed that much

12-27-2006, 10:47 AM	#9
4Man Confirmed User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 3,830	that sucks!!!

12-27-2006, 11:08 AM	#10
RawAlex So Fucking Banned Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: In a house. Posts: 9,465	Misleading for a bunch of reasons. 1) no court in Sydney is going to tell the internet how to run. 2) the links weren't to websites, but to specific music of movie files on a website, which were copyright material being illegally distributed 3) the person writing this article has the same technical knowledge as bush in my front lawn (it redid my networking last year... yeah right!) Here's a news flash: You knowing link to illegal shit, guess what, it ain't any different from the real world where you put up a big sign in your front yard "GO NEXT DOOR THEY HAVE STOLEN DVD'S FOR FREE!". Don't be fucking morons just because you think nobody can find you on the interweb net thing box.

12-27-2006, 11:21 AM	#12
martinsc Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: 127.0.0.1 Posts: 27,047	too much to read for now... will come back later.... __________________ Make Money

12-27-2006, 11:35 AM	#13
Elli Reach for those stars! Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 17,991	A few interesting points, but definitely a bit over the top. Net Neutrality didn't have much opposition when it came to Canada, unfortunately. http://www.neutrality.ca/ __________________ email: [email protected]