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Shut down the internet, it is largely an illegal business

Shut down the internet, it is largely an illegal business

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From what I have been able to find out:
http://goo.gl/yLlaK
At least a quarter of the worlds internet traffic is, illegal copyrighted material.
A significant proportion, is also pornography, which is illegal in some countries.

I personally believe the proportion of infringing or illegal traffic is higher than that - certainly here in SA.

So should we shut down the internet?

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Originally posted by twhitehead
From what I have been able to find out:
http://goo.gl/yLlaK
At least a quarter of the worlds internet traffic is, illegal copyrighted material.
A significant proportion, is also pornography, which is illegal in some countries.

I personally believe the proportion of infringing or illegal traffic is higher than that - certainly here in SA.

So should we shut down the internet?
Really, now.

Just because you don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater doesn't mean you shouldn't try to find a way to throw out the bathwater.

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Originally posted by twhitehead
From what I have been able to find out:
http://goo.gl/yLlaK
At least a quarter of the worlds internet traffic is, illegal copyrighted material.
A significant proportion, is also pornography, which is illegal in some countries.

I personally believe the proportion of infringing or illegal traffic is higher than that - certainly here in SA.

So should we shut down the internet?
Ever wonder what percentage of the economy deals with counterfeit/stolen goods?

By your logic we should shut the economy down too!

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When my fridge is 23.76% full of spoiled food, I generally don't throw out the fridge.

Its only a matter of time before bittorrent is shut down. It's not like it hasn't been attempted. And unfortunately, bittorrent is a better protocol than HTTP for distributing network load. There's nothing illegal about the protocol. It just hasn't been as widely adopted by software companies as it has by pirates, since.. well... the protocol is best known for use by pirates.

Oh well, another napster... ahem another bittorrent will pop up soon enough to replace it. And I guarantee a lot more cryptography will be part of the solution, which is not an improvement in the situation...

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Originally posted by twhitehead
From what I have been able to find out:
http://goo.gl/yLlaK
At least a quarter of the worlds internet traffic is, illegal copyrighted material.
A significant proportion, is also pornography, which is illegal in some countries.

I personally believe the proportion of infringing or illegal traffic is higher than that - certainly here in SA.

So should we shut down the internet?
Shut down everyhing but RHP. 😀

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Originally posted by WoodPush
When my fridge is 23.76% full of spoiled food, I generally don't throw out the fridge.

Its only a matter of time before bittorrent is shut down. It's not like it hasn't been attempted. And unfortunately, bittorrent is a better protocol than HTTP for distributing network load. There's nothing illegal about the protocol. It just hasn't been as widely a ...[text shortened]... cryptography will be part of the solution, which is not an improvement in the situation...
Bitcoins, Tor and Silk Road... all you need.

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Originally posted by twhitehead
From what I have been able to find out:
http://goo.gl/yLlaK
At least a quarter of the worlds internet traffic is, illegal copyrighted material.
A significant proportion, is also pornography, which is illegal in some countries.

I personally believe the proportion of infringing or illegal traffic is higher than that - certainly here in SA.

So should we shut down the internet?
Agreed. But not chess site 😀

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Originally posted by WoodPush
Oh well, another napster... ahem another bittorrent will pop up soon enough to replace it.
I believe that news servers are currently more popular than bittorrent here in South Africa though I don't have actual stats to prove it.

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Originally posted by sh76
Really, now.

Just because you don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater doesn't mean you shouldn't try to find a way to throw out the bathwater.
So, you say don't shut down the internet, but do try and kill off that offending portion.
How do we do that? A large proportion of it is peer to peer traffic. Clearly there is a conflict between privacy rights and copyright enforcement. The only way to enforce copyright protection is to encroach on privacy rights, or to use a sledgehammer and knock out the whole mechanism (which may or may not be infringing.)

On a related question: how on earth do copyright owners issue take down notices without first breaking the law and downloading what is potentially copyrighted by other people?
How did the researchers I referenced in the OP get their stats without breaking the law?

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I have heard that the owners of Megaupload were 'committing a crime by profiting from piracy'. So, if it is a well known fact that many people pay for their internet largely for the purposes of piracy, surely this means the ISPs are also committing a crime by profiting from piracy and could be arrested?

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The developed world's infrastructure and economy is so dependent on internet communication now, shutting it down will cause more problems than it resolves.

An alternative will be to shut it down very gradually, forcing corporations to use alternatives (i.e. archaic methods used before the internet, along with very huge costs), but I cannot see that happening without a fight. Doesn't seem very likely or practical.

Especially considering that the UN says that internet access should be considered a human right.

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Originally posted by lausey
The developed world's infrastructure and economy is so dependent on internet communication now, shutting it down will cause more problems than it resolves.
Too big to fail? Like those banks that were stealing money left right and centre but still got bailed out and allowed to give themselves even bigger bonuses?

So if more of us were dependant on mega upload, it would not have been shut down?

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This argument is similar to the anti-natalist line: the act of giving birth ensures suffering, so one is obliged not to have children.

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Originally posted by twhitehead
I believe that news servers are currently more popular than bittorrent here in South Africa though I don't have actual stats to prove it.
News servers give you aninomity. Much better, safer and faster than Bittorrent.

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Is it because the internet involves technology, that somehow regulators think they can stem the accumulated tendencies of human criminal behavior? Sony and Microsoft's obsession with digital rights management trapped them into backward thinking protectionism while Apple developed iTunes and created an ecosystem that propelled Apple into a Corporation with the market capitalization of Exxon. When will these supposed doyens of capitalism learn?