Source:
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/21/two_lessons_from_the_megaupload_seizure/singleton/
Glenn Greenwald
Saturday, Jan 21, 2012 10:58 AM UTC
Two lessons from the Megaupload seizure
By Glenn Greenwald
"Two events this week produced some serious cognitive dissonance.
First, Congressional leaders sheepishly announced that they were
withdrawing (at least for the time being) two bills heavily backed by
the entertainment industry ? the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate
and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House ? in the wake of vocal
online citizen protests (and, more significantly, coordinated
opposition from the powerful Silicon Valley industry). Critics
insisted that these bills were dangerous because they empowered the
U.S. Government, based on mere accusations of piracy and copyright
infringement, to shut down websites without any real due process. But
just as the celebrations began over the saving of Internet Freedom,
something else happened: the U.S. Justice Department not only indicted
the owners of one of the world?s largest websites, the file-sharing
site Megaupload, but also seized and shut down that site, and also
seized or froze millions of dollars of its assets ? all based on the
unproved accusations, set forth in an indictment, that the site
deliberately aided copyright infringement."
rest at
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/21/two_lessons_from_the_megaupload_seizure/singleton/
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