I just saw those articles in a post. I was shocked to say the least, and decided to post this on several forums I frequent so the word can be spread.
In summary, all major American ISP's are implementing a system to spy on their users in order to police copyright infringement. There was no legal debate let alone any discussion with the users, and this decision was simply taken and will be applied starting 1 or 12 July. Users considered to be infringing copyright will be punished in several ways... such as their internet being cut off, selective websites being censored, their bandwidth being lowered, and if the offense is repeated users will be constrained to go to special copyright lessons to be allowed on the internet again.
I believe that this is the worst attack initiated against internet users in the US, worse than what SOPA and ACTA were meant to be. If what's said about this initiative is true, something worse than SOPA is already being put in practice starting next week. It's clear that the government and / or Hollywood have started another backroom deal, this time asking ISP's to pretend they've taken the decision on their own so they could censor the internet without any debate in the house or senate (which as proven by SOPA would not pass).
I couldn't begin describing how horrible and surreal this is after what I read. It will be used to cut users off the internet, and even worse to purposely humiliate them in spite (copyright lessons required to access the internet, and lowered data transfer rates as punishment). It will also be used to spy on any website you access, and for the first time in the history of America you will be completely watched by your ISP. They might even be able to read private emails you send / receive. Those are unspeakable practices which could only be imagined in countries like Libia or North Korea.
I don't believe I need to point out that users will not be punished for real copyright infringements only, but false negatives will exist and be heavily abused. Technically, if your ISP believes you are stupid for accessing a website they don't like (which they can now spy on) they may easily invent a claim and cut you off the internet without being questioned by anyone. This will obviously be used for censorship on political subjects and worse too.
Every internet user needs to act urgently, more than they have for SOPA / PIPA last winter. If this decision is not undone, I'm even expecting riots to take place. I'm also hoping that major websites like Google or Wikipedia will do another blackout in awareness to this. At this point I strongly support a criminal investigation to see who's behind those unprecedented attacks on internet users, and believe someone needs to be sentenced to prison for both this and what happened with SOPA.
The only thing I ask of everyone is to please re-post this and spread awareness immediately! We need everyone to know about this fast, so we can have time to protest and / or sign petitions against it. Lets hope this can be stopped before the unthinkable happens, otherwise there will no longer be internet for most of us.
There are other important things I would like to point out about this, which I didn't fully get to last night. Those are points that I believe everyone should carefully look into and inform others about.
This will allow your ISP to spy on everything you do. If they spy your data they will be able to read your emails, IM's, how many times you called your boss a moron, how many times you sex RP'd online... everything. Theoretically, they can even spy on what you discuss with your co-workers, and secretly share private information with the competitor of the company you work for. Or if you access a porn website, they could tell everyone about it and the things you look at (even your parents or husband / wife). Next, if you access a website about something your admin dislikes, they can easily invent false claims against you to bully you. Imagine being cut off the internet because you are gay or accessed 4chan. Or going to school one day to find out the head teacher mysteriously knows you're gay or something you only said privately, then everyone finds out and you get bullied. Also, what do you think will happen to people who post bad things about America's leadership, the US army, uncover war crimes or government abuses, and that sort of thing... especially with the NDAA being around?
If anyone thinks this won't happen because "they will be nice people and will only use this to catch thieves", you are more than naive. No, it WILL be used for this and much worse if it happens. I don't even need to point out what power hungry and control hungry characters are behind this.
But even if (just for the sake of pretending) this will only be used against pirates. Those pirates might have an online job, not to mention friends they talk with and other activities (unrelated to piracy). Cutting anyone off the internet at this day could cost many their jobs, and some even their lives. And then... being humiliated in spite by being sent to classes about copyright and scolded like a 2 year old by some internet provider? This by itself is a hateful practice, which as a mentality was used by communist and nazi regimes to show their power. Those who spoke against the regime but didn't pose a big threat weren't killed, but instead beaten in public and left without food and water for days, to show an example to those who disobeyed. At a different scale, this is the same mentality being put in practice here with those "lessons", against people who might have done as little as downloading a song. We live in a mad world.
Alongside the practical consequences, this is also an insult to all internet users. We are being qualified as thieves automatically, and investigated prematurely to make sure we aren't stealing. Using the internet will now be a suspicion of theft by itself... also known as being accused of a crime before you even commit it. In any normal world, people would be outraged at such a slap in the face. It's the same as installing cameras in everyone's homes, watching them when they eat / go pee / have sex / etc. just to be sure they aren't raising cannabis in their house. Christ... not even Gaddafi or Kim Jong Il dared to do this.
As for hoping that some ISP's will stay free, no. This is simply a new attempt to pass a law worse than SOPA. Currently, they paid or constrained ISP's to pretend they've taken the decision on their own. After people would have cooled down and enough accepted this practice, they would also pass a law to make the whole thing obligatory. It's basically doing it before it's legal, so people get used to it first and they can later legalize it more easily. That's why everyone needs to act urgently.
One thing's for sure: They are up-front trying to make America a dictatorship, and I'm not talking just about this event (the NDAA is another thing). Many laws worthy of the worst dictatorships are being forcefully pushed in the US. The world has a very important choice to take in the next years, and if the wrong one is taken expect us to return to a medieval terror-based leadership. This isn't a theory or exaggeration, it's happening under our eyes.
Once again, please post about this everywhere you can and spread the word. Make a topic on all forums you visit (if there isn't one already), post it on your Facebook / Twitter, and if you own a blog publish an article. We should also contact every news TV station or website and pressure them to speak about it. Please make people aware of the things I wrote in this post also (feel free to re-post all of it) so they can better see what we're dealing with (as many still think it would only stop piracy and it's ok). We have a disaster beyond words in front of us, if everything we read about this is true.
please Spread Third LIKE A GREAT VIRUS,before were too late,we have not much time,and since CISPA was passed early of schedule who know when if they do it again to pull a fast one out of us
