Thursday, September 19, 2013

Illegal Materials Downloaded By Congressional Internet Connection

By Cornelius Nunev


Unlawfully obtained products are widely accessible online. The SOPA bill is intended to make these products less obtainable, a fact that consumers of the Congressional internet connection seem to be responding to by installing more illegal material.

What is SOPA?

The Stop Online Piracy Act, officially known as H.R. 3261, was introduced as a companion to the Defend IP Act introduced in the Senate. If passed, the bill would allow copyright holders to submit claims of copyright infringement. These claims would do everything from blocking online payment processors from doing business involving copyright infringement to forcing search engines to block access to the disputed content.

Many people point out that the First Amendment rights could be violated because of the bill. It would also reform the internet forever. The bill would make it so a business is not responsible for any damage claims if it was just trying to enforce copyright protections.

A ton of installing

You Have Downloaded is a service that associates IP addresses and torrent download history to create a database of torrent download history. The database is not comprehensive, but it does give a general history of downloads. Some estimates put You Have Downloaded as recording 20 percent of torrent downloads. A search of You Have Downloaded by torrent freak shows that IP addresses associated with the House of Representatives have downloaded over 800 pieces of unlawful content, such as self-help books, popular Television shows, films and even extensive amounts of hardcore pornography. The self-help books downloaded illegally have included titles such as "Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High," and "How to Answer Hard Interview Questions And Anything Else You Need to Know to Get the Job You would like."

Fewer members support SOPA

The vote on SOPA has been postponed until at least after Congress returns after the first of the year. While Congress is out of session, several of the companies and organizations that have supported the passage of SOPA have been targeted by opponents. The most noticeable example of this is the domain-registration service GoDaddy, which at first supported the bill. It faced a large consumer backlash and drain of customers to other services. GoDaddy has now come out strongly against SOPA, citing consumer feedback.




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