Sigh…
I have been avoiding this topic for some time due to the simple fact that I am an American and have no say in what goes down in Japan, but now it’s spilling over in the form of Internet Censorship bill and radical shifts in power over copyright law and Free and Fair usage. In Japan various acts have been enabled by their current congressional leadership to essentially ban any anime/manga/game/CG/story that the government deems “Indecent”. Ya right now this is major problem for the vast majority of companies creating art/games/anime/manga /etc in Japan. So much so that major Companies are boycotting anime trade shows and are taking it step further by telling investors and end users thats you that if this content ban is not repealed that there will be major economical and social ramifications. I’m going to say that this is not a new topic to arise but its a very HOT item and I just wanted to note that I personally support the Japanese fighting this terrible bill. Several bad things have been going on to help put this bill in motion and this getting passed is just one more step backwards for anime companies and all related industry that deal with products from Japan. Really this bill is not going to protect anyone and its another shotgun problem solving approach, its just going to kill a lot of innocent people and make a huge mess.
Read about it here: LINK
Read about the Protest: LINK
Watch this here: LINK
And watch this: LINK
Here in the United States of America Land we have a few really bad ideas coming down the pipe. The FCC has found an argument that holds water but ever so barely. The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act. In this bill the FCC says that the internet is a breeding ground for the free exchange of copyrighted material. Though if I last checked the DMCA or The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was updated last year with various laws that protect end users from being criminally charged for using copyright material without ill intent. Also included were items that have no ownership in the United states and material posted online to be used in parody, review, reflection, and or fair use. So ripping DVD’s for your Ipod is still a gray area but if your not selling or trading copies you are most likely to be found not guilty of any crime.
So the FCC in short wants the power to SHUT DOWN ANY WEBSITE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT REASON OR WARRANT. This is quite possibly the worst idea I’ve heard in years, not only is that a crime against the United States its a felony action by any standard citizen. Just try to walk into a Walmart database center and demand it to be shut down at gun point, or jog into Google and tell them you have copyrighted images in your search engine you are shut down. Ya right, by taking this shotgun approach again this only serves to hurt many innocent people and cut off a few bad apples. This bill slipped into congress while everyone was drinking and Celebrating the holidays, it is wrong dare I say fudged up to resort to seasonal sneak attack. Shame on you congress and shame on you FCC. This bill known in short as (COICA) The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act. In short much like the bill that passed in Japan it is way to broad! This bill needs to be stopped, please read and watch all the videos in this post.
Info from the EFF: LINK
Read about the (COICA) bill here : LINK
More to read about Net neutrality : LINK
Watch this if you can’t read: LINK
Still reading and need some more reasons to care ok well….
Axe yourself these questions ” Do I watch anime online? Do I look at art online? Do I watch parody’s or reviews online? Do I talk about music and or make music mixes?” Hell this list grows and grows. Some people affected by these bills include: DJ’s, artists, reviewers, writers, advertisers, sales and online sites that sell anything really, databases, photographers, bloggers, image boards, P2p users, any and everyone who swaps files online, forum users, Facebook users, fan art, cosplayers, custom cloth makers, ISPs, internet hosting, and once again this list just grows and grows. These bills currently making there way through congress need to be stopped and reviewed.
The FCC has a lot of money and fancy lawyers but you thats WE THE PEOPLE have the right to protest and the right to challenge your political elect! Tell you congress man that you won’t be voting for him if he passes this bill, tell him its un-constitutional and goes against both the freedom of speech and expression in which religion and ideas are protected. Tell him that there are already laws in play to handle what this bill is aimed at, and this bill is very broad and dangerous. Not only are anime fans in danger, really anyone who uses the net is being firmly placed in the cross hairs of this bill shotgun blast. Please do not be rude to your elect. And again if your going to make noise online do it constructively and fairly. Fight with facts and truths, don’t resort to slander and lies. And make sure to read in between the lines.
My two cents worth about whats going on in politics here and in Japan.
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