We had a court order local ISPs to block access to foreign gambling sites, because local gambling institutions had to go through all the licensing and related regulations and weren’t able to compete with offshore gambling sites. This sounded like a reasonable concern from the 20th century business perspective, but it’s 21st century outside and you have to change the models accordingly, not try to force the middle ages model on the modern reality. The ISPs refused and I’m not sure how it ended.

The US entertainment industry should finally understand that the situation has changed and look for new business models instead of lobbying for primitive enforcement laws.

Find and write to your Senator here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Find and write to your Congressperson here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/

Some suggested copy for your email selected/edited from Mr. Wilson’s post:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Please vote NO on the Protect IP / E-Parasites Bills . 

These bills were written by the content industry without any input from the technology industry. And they are being fast tracked through congress and into law without any negotiation with the technology industry. 

The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) works. Its safe harbors have allowed the Internet to become the US’s most important new industry in a century and a critical job creator. If we need to amend the DMCA, it should be done with a negotiation between the interested parties, not with a bill written by the content industry’s lobbyists and jammed through congress and the senate on a fast track. 

These bills are job creation and innovation killers.The content industry is not creating new jobs right now. The tech industry, led by startups, have created all the net new jobs in the past five years. Companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and startups like Dropbox, Kickstarter, and Twilio are the leading exporters and job creators of this time. They are the golden goose of the economy and we cannot kill the golden goose to protect industries in decline.I’m joining these organizations in opposition to this both of these bills: EFF, Free Software Foundation, Public Knowledge, Demand Progress,Fight For the Future, Participatory Politics Foundation, and Creative Commons.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Take 5 minutes and let your legislature know where you stand — NOW!

Sooner or later, there will probably be a bill that gives the government the power to shutdown certain forum threads and such if this gets passes. 4chan would go to hell really quick, abovetopsecret and godlikeproductions would also. Limiting piracy is one thing, but infringing an amendment, the very first one, in fact, goes way too far. STOP IT!!!!

Aaron,15,Baltimore

i remember the napster lawsuits as i was emailed one but i legally owned metallica songs, anyway this new  bill that i hope to never see pass poses a threat to anyone that communicates in any form over the internet at all pictures video and text. they will never stop online piracy it never dies only gets stronger and limiting the where’s what’s and how’s of communication between people and buisnesses will in my opinion become a major problem for everyone. if it passes ur gonna see all the teenagers and 20 somethings rioting in the streets because facebook getting shut down. thats what the new generation will talk about in this moment in american history “The Facebook Riots”

leave my freedom of information alone, leave my freedom of speech alone, leave my freedom alone ya bunch of barsards.!!!!!!!!

Time to start parallel internet : >

An accurate description of my (and several of my peers’) reaction to this can be presented in a single word: Disgusted.

I’m 19 years old, and have spent a large portion of my free time thus far on the internet, watching it grow and being a small part of that growth. It’s a beautiful thing, an accurate depiction of what the average first-world community can be without the threat of violent consequence for speaking one’s mind. I’ve given the internet my art, my voice, and my precious time. And this is only considering perhaps the last 8-10 years.

What concerns me is the newer generation, those born during the 2000′s, to whom the internet is a constant and wonderful place to discover new things both in taste and about themselves. What will they have if this bill passes in regards to that? By the time they reach my age, vague memories of something wonderful, now a watered-down and over-sold version of itself. 

The internet is a collection of knowledge and abstract thought, which is, in my opinion, the single most useful tool anyone could ask for. It gives the generations of the future a sort of Alexandrian Library if you will. It’s unbelievably saddening to think that it could, in a way, be burned down.

My main use in censorship is to finally get rid on nudity and maby the arrogant creeps that do it and as well the profain language the unesisary four letter words. It isnt needed for the protection of speaking against being abused.It looks like to me that those that hate the ten commandments and maby any religion but decency as insaine, and to keep white people shut up unless they want to speak as racial rapists and against haveing boundaries.  They want to shut us up so that they can take everything as well as ourselves like on the Mexico television slavery.