Congress threatens P2P networks on porn

[Eugene]

http://news.com.com/Congress+threatens+P2P+networks+on+porn/2100-1028_3-5809223.html?tag=nefd.top

Congress threatens P2P networks on porn
Published: July 28, 2005, 4:44 PM PDT
By Anne Broache
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

WASHINGTON--Congress remains reluctant to rewrite copyright law in
the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision on
file-swapping--but Internet pornography on peer-to-peer networks is
likely to be a legislative target this fall.

At a hearing convened Thursday by the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee,
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said that she and a bipartisan group of
senators were "very concerned" that peer-to-peer software makers were
not taking "active steps" to stop copyright infringement by filtering
pornography from minors using the software.

"If you don't move to protect copyright, if you don't move to protect
our children, it's not going to sit well," Boxer said.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who chairs the committee, said he would
be holding a hearing this fall geared toward illegal access to
pornography through peer-to-peer software.

more...

Congress wants to mandate filters on P2P.
Everybody who testified said that immediate
Congressional action is not needed.

[Deja Q]

1. Government telling people what to do? Where is the conservative outrage?

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. I'm getting sick of hearing these hacks bleating...

"oh, but we need to protect our CHILDREN!" No, you don't; their parents do. That's their job, not yours.

[MindPilot]

3. It's a good thing there's not a war or joblessness or poverty

or election fraud or a crashing economy or climate change or RUNNING OUT OF FUCKING OIL!!!!

So people in government have the resources to intrude just a little deeper into our lives...for the children.

[ET Awful]

4. Won't somebody PLEASE think of the children

[Todd B]

5. Since when is pornography illegal?

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who chairs the committee, said he would
be holding a hearing this fall geared toward illegal access to
pornography through peer-to-peer software.

Umm, when has pornography ever been declared illegal? Unless he is talking about child pornography specifically (which, yes, I would agree something needs to be done), then he should get off his moral highroad and start dealing with real moral issues like kids having a decent education, global access to healthcare, or caring for the environment.

At a hearing convened Thursday by the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee,
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said that she and a bipartisan group of
senators were "very concerned" that peer-to-peer software makers were
not taking "active steps" to stop copyright infringement by filtering
pornography from minors using the software.

And what does "copyright infringement" have to do with filtering pornography from minors?

How about if we STOP blaming software companies for what some users do with the end product? It infuriates me to no end!

Can we blame Windows XP for exposing children to porn because they can access adult websites with Internet Explorer?

God! </rant>

[mongo]

7. On the federal level and in 40 states you can be arrested for

pandering obscenity.

It is perfectly legal for you to own an explicit movie - it's just illegal for me to sell it to you.

The way the law is written, I can be arrested for selling any movie in my inventory.

We don't have prior restraint of free speech in America, so there is no way a "film board" can approve or ban movies. So the way it works, if a prudish prosecutor wants to go after you, they try to buy the nastiest movies in your inventory. You go into an expensive trial, and it is up to the jury to determine if the work is "obscene" and therefore illegal - if they convict, you can get up to 1 year in jail in Ohio, and 5 years on the federal level for a first offense.

In a few states, you can still be arrested for selling a sex toy.

Stores like mine exist because getting convictions is a crapshoot for prosecutors, expensive for the justice system, and in most places just not worth their time and effort.

With the current climate and the multi-front war on porn, I think that we'll see more and more arrests for obscenity.

[getmeouttahere]

8. Keep fighting the good fight, Mongo...

it's not the best climate right now, but when is it with a repuke in charge, especially a fundie repuke. But they'll be happy to take Mary Carey's money at a repuke fundraiser. Or was that her producer's money...whatever, it's the same old thing. Slap the pornographer in the face with one hand, while jacking off to their movies with the other!

[mongo]

10. Thanks, I needed that

You know, Clinton took the FBI's Obscenity task force, and re-directed it to focus on Child pornography.

There wasn't a single prosecution by the feds for adult obscenity during his administration. Obscenity convictions in other localities were getting harder and harder to get. That was the climate we were in when I committed to starting this business.

Boy, things can change fast. I shudder whenever I see a (D) next to the legislators who are attacking the industry.

[getmeouttahere]

11. I kinda figured that Clinton's admin

would put the focus where it should be. And it would indeed be disconcerting to see a (D) next to the name of someone attacking the industry, but wouldn't that likely be "Lieberman (D-Conn)"?

Just to give you a bit of a contrast to our puritanical atmosphere here in Jesusland, in French Canada they sell porn magazines right out in the open, on the shelves with all the other magazines, no stupid wrappers or covers, and they put soft-core porn on free tv at night - it's funny, the channel that shows the porn at night has a motto "Le Mouton Noir de la tele" which loosely translated means "the black sheep of tv"

[plcdude]

6. Internet pornography on peer-to-peer networks

man I am always missing out on the good stuff. Where are these networks anyway?

[wli]

9. what are they going to do, invade Sweden for piratebay.org?

Well, the internet can be castrated. Ask the Chinese.