The Protect IP Act of 2011, also known as S.968, is listed as, "A bill to prevent online threats to economic creativity and theft of intellectual property, and for other purposes." According to the website of Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, one of the bill's primary sponsors, the law "aims to crack down on rogue websites dedicated to the sale of infringing or counterfeit goods."
The concept of intellectual property, the legal name for musical, literary, and artistic works such as music and videos, dates back to the first copyright laws of the the 18th century. Technology makes the distribution of words, pictures. music, and movies, easier and faster than the originators of the original copyright laws could ever imagine.
Internet regulation and proposed legislation with ways to regulate the internet by well meaning politicians seems to a major theme of the current congress. The current Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was the last major upgrade of copyright laws back in 1998. The DMCA attempted to align itself with international laws and treaties such as those sponsored by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Where the current laws are weakest is when countries that have no respect for US laws or international treaties allow pirates to operate.
Understanding the logic of The Protect IP Act
Consider the pirate website similar to a traditional brick and mortal business that was doing something illegal. What could you do if there was a business conducting illegal activities in an area that was legally impossible, or physically impossible for the government to stop? What could they do? The government could make it illegal to travel to the area, or at the very least, make it as difficult as possible to travel to the area, to keep people away from the illegal activity.
Applying that concept to internet traffic, we would first have to identify the good traffic versus the bad traffic. Who will determine the good and the bad?
Next there needs to a technology plan to block the bad traffic. Who will be in charge of that? Will it be the FCC, or will we create another agency?
Has anyone looked at the cost of an internet based system of filtering web traffic? In the politics of the past, trade embargoes and travel restrictions were difficult to enforce, and seldom as effective as promised in influencing the actions of the folks being punished.
The politicians are considering waging war on the internet pirates without understanding all the technical details, and technology nightmares it will create. While this bill has passed through committee, it currently is awaiting futher discussion in the Senate. The Protect IP Act raises many more questions that it answers, and we will be following closely where it goes from here.
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