All U.S. Internet Providers will be policing downloads by July 12, 2012

[cat_o_wen]

Originally posted by kerrsmith2306 at All U.S. Internet Providers will be policing downloads by July 12, 2012
Originally posted by marilla_pm67 at All U.S. Internet Providers will be policing downloads by July 12, 2012
Originally posted by

Comments

[padabee]

Holy shit. o.o

[cat_o_wen]

Yeah, I know. I'm NOT happy. :/

[ma_chelle]

Honestly, how can they even tell if it's an illegal download, if it's not from a torrent? There are a number of 'legitimate' websites to download files from.

It's the TV shows we share between countries that bother me the most--those are free if you could watch it on your TV at home. So few people are doing any of this for profit--we are simply sharing TV shows our friends can't get in their countries, or sharing a CD that we bought with out own damn money!

This whole thing INFURIATES me, and if I can't get my Merlin fix come fall I might actually die. *worries*

[cat_o_wen]

I wonder if only torrents will actually be sought out and tracked? I'm still not completely clear on what exactly they will be doing. But I'm concerned that I will have trouble nonetheless. I use https links and a lot of the people who share the files use anon links too. But this reads like those will also be tracked - how?? And I completely agree about the free TV shows that we download.

I have concerns relating to my own business too - I download copyrighted stock photography that I purchase the rights to use...so will my ISP cut off my service for those??? I upload and download copyrighted designs that I own and that my clients own all the time too since 'online' is the only way I can share my work with my clientele. So where will they draw the line? How are we supposed to 'prove' what is legal verses what might not be?

It's MADDENING.

PS. LOVE your icon!

[ma_chelle]

Ultimately I think that's going to be the biggest problem--they CAN'T know exactly what we're downloading, if it's legal or not, without collecting a lot of personal information on us.

Thousands of people live stream using Netflix, including me--my kids and I watch hours at a time. Will that count negatively against our bandwidth?

We've shaped our lives around the internet, personally and professionally. This can ONLY end badly and I hope they are able to put a stop to it before it even starts.

It was 1984 when I had to read the actual book. Home computers were not common then but the entire concept scared the hell out of me. This scares me more.

[cat_o_wen]

Yeah we use live streaming Netflix too - so there is yet another area that they'd have to verify - who has legit accounts with streaming video sites! I just can't see how they can police this.

I can only hope that this is stopped - it is insane. *growls*

[hai_di]

that sounds really bad - so not right how big brother wants to watch its people :(

[cat_o_wen]

It does sound bad! I hope somehow it is stopped!

[janholdridge]

My ISP shut off my internet last year without warning. I called, they reconnected me the same day.

Ya know, if more content was streamed online, there wouldn't be a problem. However, butt heads like CBS (among others) refuse to stream.

So what are people who can't afford cable to do? Netflix and Hulu Plus only stream a certain portion of available content. The rest of it will be out of reach AND I AIN'T HAPPY.

What a bummer.

[cat_o_wen]

You hit on one point in particular that irks - CBS (all all of the main networks) are free if you can pick up a digital signal with an antenna - so why is it illegal to download the same stuff or catch it streaming online?? How can they truly police what we are doing online? I'm a graphic designer by trade, so I'm always uploading and downloading very large copyrighted data - it is the only way I can do my job. I also use Netflix which I pay for! I think this will go very badly.

[janholdridge]

I've been checking some of the upload/download sites today, and several are 'off the grid' so to speak.

I think they have no idea how many privately hosted files there are. Every one of the digital freebies I DL comes under that category. How will they determine which is for personal use and which for commercial use? There are just too many to police.

I can't even fathom the effect this sort of thing will have on fandom. Ugh.