The proposed PROTECT IP act is an improvement on COICA, but still makes the wrong trade-offs between protecting copyright holders and defending the integrity of the Internet. There are several major modifications from the COICA draft. The key ones are first that only the DOJ can initiate procedures against foreign web sites that would result in exclusion of these sites from DNS and second that for domestic websites the only type of injunctive relief available is financial (no advertising supp...

Over the holiday several events happened that illustrate that we are facing a clear and present danger to the freedom of the Internet. It started with the US government seizing a bunch of domains that were accused of participating in copyright infringement. The action and its aftermath illustrate two important points. First, despite seeking more powers under the awful COICA, the government is already asserting the legality of controlling DNS and seizing domain names. Second, several of the af...

Yesterday, I gave $1,000 to Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. With this post I want to convince you to do the same (or at least give something to him). Why? Because Ron Wyden has taken a stand against the awful proposed law known as COICA. If you don’t know what COICA is or why it is a terrible idea, please read my previous post about it. In that post, I provide a link to the page on the amazing Maplight.org that shows who has contributed to which Senator. First, interest groups that support COICA...

I have met Senator Patrick Leahy in person several times and owe him a personal debt of gratitude. Over the years I have been impressed by how he has conducted himself in politics. He is, however, dead wrong in his introduction of the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) act together with Senator Orin Hatch of Utah and sadly also co-sponsored by New York’s Chuck Schumer. COICA essentially establishes Internet Blacklists and gives ISPs immunity when they enforce the black...