5x1llz - The Internet Is Dying

Every few years, one more freedom is taken offline via regulations. Either it is severly restricted or corporate greed makes it impossible to access. Either way all acts are hardly typify the spirit of openness that enveloped the internet of yesteryear. Remember when it was cheap and even free to get online? All websites were up and available to all, from baking sites to bomb making? Good times those were. Since around 1997 when the rest of the world started “dialing in” literally, and I blame AOL lol, things have gotten so… restricted. Within the last 5-10 years especially, there is an overt attempt to thwart any and all freedom online. Censorship that used to happen in far-away places are now here, between our keyboards and all the goodness the ‘interweb’ has to offer.

First thing I remember was when ISPs and hosts started chucking deuces to any site that got a complaint from government. That still seems unfair and almost certainly the beginning of online censorship and blatant disregard of due process when it came to online expression. These issues are only now becoming talkign points due to the popularization of Cloud based services but have beena reality to many for over a decade. (btw, protect your stuff in the cloud)

Enter napster, we all loved it and it was he biggest site of its kind but not the only avenue to getting the same “content” but it was too big, drew too much attention especially for amateur “subscribers” and welp, the owner went from Bugatti’s to Bus passes in about a year. Subscribers went elsewhere, lawmakers and our friends at the RIAA sent the dogs after a number of their own customers and other similar sites. Then they started lobbying heavily (some would call it hating) against “pirates”. Unreal.

Today the threat to net neutrality, and the bold Acts in the US Congress (that will undoubtedly filter down to other follower-countries) are pretty scary. It could literally stall all innovation and freeze the internet in 2011 forever. Meaning, they could block all sites LIKE YouTube but let YouTube go if YouTube bends over without complaint. We have already seen Google owned-sites begin to lean toward censorship-friendly practices like taking down emails and sites and videos and books etc. They are well within their power yet it still seems unfair and makes their users feel powerless. Where is the love? We should all be very concerned. Imagine being stuck with ONLY YouTUbe for the rest of our lives simply because they had a chance to get popular before these stupid rules came into being. YouTube as we know it wouldn’t be as big (leading to Googles purchase) had it NOT been open to all manner of content. Now, you can BUY movies on YouTube. Say Wha? I thought the whole point was to see videos from other people and escape the “system”? This is also another version of restricting our freedom, basically they start by saying NO to our content and YES to some bull$hit mainstream movies that have already been sanitized and censored through all proper channels. Thereby, a sanctuary for fresh, cool, free content is turned into a mall to sell the latest and greatest from ACME Inc.

On net neutrality, you could see some people (maybe entire cities) not even be able to access the internet. Who determines who gets what level of access. Its a slippery slope. Corporations would likely dictate either by policy or by dollars. They’d get the best of the internet and access to certain sites (the few that make it through regulated DNS screenings). Imagine how much content could be restricted until they are undiscoverable and unpatronized and eventually disappear.

In the future, there are talks of having international regulatory bodies of the internet and making websites PAY dues for traffic. Meaning an attempt to have a United Nations like body for internet policy and charge sites like Google fees sort of like buying land on the internet. Yes, yet another tax that will inevitably “trickle down” to you and me. Incredulous as it seems, this is really what is going on. Our emails are already watched, ad agencies will begin to have lot more say and power over which sites survive (by simply pulling their support). Wikipedia may be the only site left and maybe with only a fraction of its content.

The fun part is all of this is happening without OUR say! I have yet to meet a single human person that thinks any of this is a great idea or even fair. Most people hear about these issues but dont put much thought into it yet we “reblog” or post songs or visit sites every day. I dont believe its apathy, I think its due to our alienation to the process of law-making, and how little people know about how the internet works. All of it could be heavily restricted in a few years. We see signs of it today, links broken due to vague claims of copyright infringement. Not only do have they attempted to take down sites contrary to what they think we should have access to, they also try to bully corporations and block any products or services that offer hacks. Tumblr could fold just like napster did and nothing like it will ever see the light of day again. Stay aware, look for an opportunity to join and voice dissent. Corporations get the most say and are the puppeteers behind many of the new Acts and “ideas”. Meanwhile when was the last time a corporation surfed the net? Their main goals center around how to further leverage (read: pimp), commercialize, and regulate the internet for their own purposes.

Get hip:

http://www.savetheinternet.com/

http://www.tgdaily.com/security-features/60351-fcc-says-internet-freedom-under-threat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality_in_the_United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PROTECT_IP_Act

http://www.buzzfeed.com/willio/the-dangers-of-sopa-in-a-nutshell-460x

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/20/62546950.html

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