PCIPA: What it is, and why it's worse than SOPA, or PIPA.
- Lamar Smith is a name you should not only know, but dislike. He introduced SOPA. Well, SOPA is now dead, but the war is not over. Now, he's at it again. He has come up with another overzealous bill designed to punish a few by punishing all. The Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act sounds like a good thing, which is what makes it so dangerous. Most people who only hear the title will be in favor of it, and the same goes for politicians, and members of Congress. But if you look within the bill, it is a VERY different story. In fact, it has nothing to do with children, or porn. It requires your ISP(AT&T, etc. whoever provides your Internet) to record your credit card numbers, bank account numbers, home address, IP addresses, every website you visit, every transaction you make, everything you download. Anything you do on the Internet is recorded, and stored for 18 months. This in itself is sketchy, but the truth is, they probably already know most of this. But, here's where the bill turns bad. That information can be viewed without a warrant, or probable cause. Here's a scenario where things can turn ugly: A sheriff decides that they're not making enough money from speeding tickets. So, he arbitrarily picks a few people from his town, and simply tells the ISP "I need these people's information." They have to give it to him. No warrant. No probable cause. Just because he said he wanted it. Lo and behold, John Smith watched a copyrighted YouTube video. Now John Smith is being fined $5000. Is it just me, or is Lamar Smith just determined to destroy the Internet? What does r/politics think of PCIPA?
- Sources: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/08/the-legislation-that-could-kill-internet-privacy-for-good/242853/ and here: http://gcn.com/articles/2011/08/05/protecting-children-bill-could-kill-internet.aspx
Posted January 23, 2012 at 8:17am
