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Major ISPs agree to "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan

arstechnica.com

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Re: Major ISPs agree to "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan

#11

Post by eyeareque »

kevingadd wrote: post #5
jolan wrote: post #4

Make sure to do all your copyright infringement on a disposable VPS.

Regardless of whether you break the law on a regular basis, having a personal VPS is a very good idea these days. I still regularly run into problems with websites and applications related to geolocation, blacklisting, or routing, and being able to proxy stuff through my VPS enables me to keep getting things done. In particular, if you're a Comcast user a VPS is pretty essential since their routing and peering are aw…

What does it cost per month for a simple VPS service that can do this?

Re: Major ISPs agree to "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan

#12

Post by bediger »

wmf wrote: post #2

I wonder if copyright holders will file a lot more of these notices (100X? 1000X?) since they will presumably be cheaper and seen as less threatening.

Indeed. Does a penalty for filing a false notice (accusation) of infringement exist? What's the process for adjudicating disputes?

Re: Major ISPs agree to "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan

#13

Post by wvenable »

kevingadd wrote: post #5
jolan wrote: post #4

Make sure to do all your copyright infringement on a disposable VPS.

Regardless of whether you break the law on a regular basis, having a personal VPS is a very good idea these days. I still regularly run into problems with websites and applications related to geolocation, blacklisting, or routing, and being able to proxy stuff through my VPS enables me to keep getting things done. In particular, if you're a Comcast user a VPS is pretty essential since their routing and peering are aw…

Where's the best place to get a personal VPS?

Re: Major ISPs agree to "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan

#14

Post by kelnos »

navyrain wrote: post #10

Given that these ISPs often have exclusive markets, in which they have no direct competitors, this would effectively deny internet access to anyone who had the misfortune of getting a few of these notices. Lack of judicial oversight is obviously a problem. But furthermore, this really overstates the seriousness of copyright infringement, and understates the importance of internet access for all.

If you read the article, you'd know that ISPs seem unwilling to cut off access entirely, even after 6 strikes.

Agreed on the judicial issues. While the ISP is legally free to make any decision it wants as to who is allowed to use its network, and in what capacity, they're essentially making these determinations based on hearsay.

Re: Major ISPs agree to "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan

#15

Post by click170 »

kelnos wrote: post #14
navyrain wrote: post #10

Given that these ISPs often have exclusive markets, in which they have no direct competitors, this would effectively deny internet access to anyone who had the misfortune of getting a few of these notices. Lack of judicial oversight is obviously a problem. But furthermore, this really overstates the seriousness of copyright infringement, and understates the importance of internet access for all.

If you read the article, you'd know that ISPs seem unwilling to cut off access entirely, even after 6 strikes. Agreed on the judicial issues. While the ISP is legally free to make any decision it wants as to who is allowed to use its network, and in what capacity, they're essentially making these determinations based on hearsay.

What tickles me in that special way is the way this 'conversation' has gone.

Them: "We've got an awesome new idea, 3 strikes policies. 3 accusations, and your out."

Us: "Um, well actually it's not fair to have your internet cut off based on unproven accusations."

Them: "Well then... 6 strikes!"

Us: "I don't think you understand the objection..."

Re: Major ISPs agree to "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan

#16

Post by kijinbear »

navyrain wrote: post #10

Given that these ISPs often have exclusive markets, in which they have no direct competitors, this would effectively deny internet access to anyone who had the misfortune of getting a few of these notices. Lack of judicial oversight is obviously a problem. But furthermore, this really overstates the seriousness of copyright infringement, and understates the importance of internet access for all.

Some European countries [1] and even the UN [2] have recently begun to recognize internet access as a Constitutional right. If similar decisions were made here, one might be able to sue one's ISP for breaching that right... but maybe not, as long as there's free internet at public libraries. I'm also very pessimistic that SCOTUS will recognize internet access as a Constitutional right any time soon, what with the MAFIAA still at large.

[1] http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0309/Is-Inte... [2] http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/06/united-nat...

Re: Major ISPs agree to "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan

#17

Post by JoshTriplett »

click170 wrote: post #15
kelnos wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you read the article, you'd know that ISPs seem unwilling to cut off access entirely, even after 6 strikes. Agreed on the judicial issues. While the ISP is legally free to make any decision it wants as to who is allowed to use its network, and in what capacity, they're essentially making these determinations based on hearsay.

What tickles me in that special way is the way this 'conversation' has gone. Them: "We've got an awesome new idea, 3 strikes policies. 3 accusations, and your out." Us: "Um, well actually it's not fair to have your internet cut off based on unproven accusations." Them: "Well then... 6 strikes!" Us: "I don't think you understand the objection..."

That's a standard political tactic; a compromise is always considered OK, so you propose something ridiculous and end up with half of ridiculous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door-in-the-face_technique

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_Window

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_to_moderation

Re: Major ISPs agree to "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan

#18

Post by kijinbear »

bediger wrote: post #12
wmf wrote: post #2

I wonder if copyright holders will file a lot more of these notices (100X? 1000X?) since they will presumably be cheaper and seen as less threatening.

Indeed. Does a penalty for filing a false notice (accusation) of infringement exist? What's the process for adjudicating disputes?

I don't think there's any penalty for false accusations of copyright infringement. Likewise, nobody needs to pay for falsely accusing you of anything unless you sue them for defamation.

If your ISP actually cuts off your internet after 6 false accusations, you might want to take them to the courts. EFF will probably love to take on such a suit. Unfortunately, very few people have the financial means or guts to sue the RIAA/MPAA and follow through with it.

Re: Major ISPs agree to "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan

#19

Post by JoshTriplett »

wvenable wrote: post #13
kevingadd wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regardless of whether you break the law on a regular basis, having a personal VPS is a very good idea these days. I still regularly run into problems with websites and applications related to geolocation, blacklisting, or routing, and being able to proxy stuff through my VPS enables me to keep getting things done. In particular, if you're a Comcast user a VPS is pretty essential since their routing and peering are aw…

Where's the best place to get a personal VPS?

I highly recommend Gandi: https://www.gandi.net/

They have a friendly management interface, which keeps getting more impressive over time. They scale very well based on what you need, and I've found their support quite helpful as well.

I also recommend their domain name registration; in addition to having much better policies than most registrars, they also provide email for their domains, which saves you the trouble of maintaining a mail server yourself.

Re: Major ISPs agree to "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan

#20

Post by kijinbear »

eyeareque wrote: post #11
kevingadd wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regardless of whether you break the law on a regular basis, having a personal VPS is a very good idea these days. I still regularly run into problems with websites and applications related to geolocation, blacklisting, or routing, and being able to proxy stuff through my VPS enables me to keep getting things done. In particular, if you're a Comcast user a VPS is pretty essential since their routing and peering are aw…

What does it cost per month for a simple VPS service that can do this?

I have a couple of very small VPS's which cost $15-20 per year. That's less than the cost of a cup of coffee per month. There are plenty of similar offers on sites like LowEndBox.com. A few SSH tunnels on a minimal Debian install shouldn't take up more than 64MB of RAM, so you don't really need an expensive Linode for that.

Caveat: These low-cost "companies" go out of business all the time, so you'd better read the reviews. But since I consider them disposable anyway, I don't really care if the uptime isn't 99.9% or the company goes bankrupt after 9 months. If you plan to do anything other than tunneling with your VPS, I'd suggest that you pay at least $10 per month.

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