I’m not specifically advocating anything but the inevitability of evolution and YOU STOPPING the unlawful behavior. Democracy is not global, nor is it respected globally. So I’ll make this prediction again:

All forms of online malfeasance will be bundled together, monitored and punished SEVERELY, with insanely high prices to be paid by anyone foolish enough to even try.

And that’s because an unaccountable network–in the long run–is useless to government and industry. Make no mistake, they supply, they service, they regulate and they will control this network and anyone who thinks they will not is a fool.

Digital piracy, the mass infringement we’ve witnessed this past decade when people retain their anonymity, is now the driving reason why nations all over the planet will band together under the ACTA in relentless pursuit of online accountability. And the punishments will be unprecedented.

We’ll have filesharing…… basically taking for free that which you know is intended for sale, to thank for all this. As you acknowledge, filesharing was never right.

So thanks, pirates. You are destroying what had enormous potential for freedom for us all through your shitty, unlawful anonymous behavior. Every single one of you is a shortsighted and selfish asshole who cannot see the bigger picture, and time is not on your side.

Happy New Year.

You might say that accountability is the stuff of maturity, but I say that anonymity is the stuff of democracy. How many people online have chosen to speak up about something, knowing that because of their anonymity they could not be persecuted for what they say? Knowing that because their identity is shielded, only what they say matters and not who they are? Sure, people could use anonymity to get away with downloading music, but 1) that is hardly the worst crime out there (and is therefore hardly a justification for stripping privacy away), and 2) our anonymity has much more meaningful uses than downloading. Without anonymity and by extension free speech, we become a culture of fear and suspicion as people lose the power to truly speak their minds.

Have you ever considered that both sides of this war could be wrong in different ways? You would certainly agree (as would I) that the teenager who downloads everything in lieu of buying is wrong. I would certainly agree (as would you, I hope) that the record label who aggressively sues whoever it can for even the most insignificant infringements is wrong. Especially when these record labels are huge pirates themselves (you have heard about the CRIA lawsuit, I take it). We might need some sort of compromise to conclude this worldwide debate. The problem is that I’m afraid for your ability to reach compromises. Having seen months of your posts on TorrentFreak, and reading this new post of yours, you are very much the hardcore antipirate and I truly wonder about whether you would be able to tolerate giving up even the slightest amount of ground to p2p users. This is why I say your views are extremist, and extremism is never the way to go.

I think that this compromise will come from the people. Not people ‘stealing’ content, as you would say, but creating it. The Internet has made it easier than ever for regular people to create content. Independently made music, movies, video games, software, books, etc etc are everywhere. Much of it is free to download and use because of the various permissive licenses, and as we all know, free is a good incentive to download something. Indie works, therefore, are good competition for the commercial stuff. It’s doubtful that amateur creations will completely supplant Big Content, but as more people create simply for the love of creating, and as more people discover independently- and fan-made content, we may see a decline in the ‘piracy’ problem overall. Of course, Big Content will also blame any ensuing drop in sales on piracy, but you can’t have everything…

I highly suggest you read Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig. It’s legally available online (pdf) and would probably be tremendously helpful for you to read it, as it would let ityou understand where the other side is coming from. And it was written by a distinguished law professor who helped found the Creative Commons foundation, not a filthy pirate.

In conclusion, Reasoned Mind, attack the stereotypical immature, self-serving, we-will-never-pay pirates all you want. But leave the free Internet alone. It’s the greatest invention in the history of mankind, and if we let Big Content and Big Content’s sponsored governments gain control of it, then this great invention as we know it will cease to exist.

Oh, of course you can. Let’s keep this simple. Fundamentally, pirates appear to be saying that the internet will always be open, neutral and anonymous, so that online activity is non-accountable. And you’ll be able to get away with whatever you want.

And you also appear to be claiming that even if routine surveillance becomes the norm, the two primary entities who foster this network will never curtail illegal behavior online, that is 1) industry who creates it, builds it and sells it to us and 2) government who regulates and polices it. A network built and sold by industry and regulated/policed by government, left totally anonymous and unaccountable so that digital product is rendered worthless. Sure. That, my pirate friends, is hogwash.

Accountability is the corner stone to everything from true adult maturity to the foundation of organized civilization. The internet will be rendered accountable, with time, legal precedent and increasing pressure until it just isn’t worth it anymore. (You’ll still have sneakernet as long as you don’t try to cross borders.)

We are very early on this network and the government hasn’t even started yet. Only industry has. And the caselaw trends are very clear already, aren’t they.

So when you use a VPN to hide unlawful acts, VPN’s will become licensed so that large corporations can continue to use them (as they already do) but get caught using a VPN w/o a proper license? You’ll do time.

Encrypt everything? Watch the ISP’s become legally compelled to randomly pull encryption streams off and forward them, tagged, to the FBI for routine cracking. No unlawful behavior? You’ll be okay. But God help you if you are infringing.

There was a time when the vast wild American west looked so huge and so unlawful, it would never develop a lawabiding civilization.
And we see where history has taken us. An organizing civilization, even virtual, is unstoppable.

Our internet will go through many different manifestations before a working paradigm is accepted and embraced and it’s very early in the game. But any TF readers who are expecting an unpatrolled, illegal, anarchistic “you can’t stop us” network to become the basis for the internet of the future will be sorely disappointed. In fact, civilization and law enforcement will prevail, with constant cat and mouse exceptions.

But that’s where the fun will be, where the entertaining trials and life changing punishments will come in. Like Gonzalez in the news today, the CC number hacker. He’ll do between 17 and 25 years.

That’s “years”.

And as the world moves towards more and more digital intellectual property as a means of commerce and trade, those punishments will skyrocket, too. Kinda like Joel and Jammie are paving the way forward. I love, by the way, that Jammie tried to finger her own kids. That was fantastic. Such a classy woman.

So see what you have to look forward to? Your unlawful behavior while hiding online will be bundled along with all the other forms of digital malfeasance and punished severely. And it’s entirely inevitable unless you stop. Which you won’t.

(laughing))

RM and neo, though I totally disagree with your main line of thinking (“copyright infrigement is theft” wtf?) keep up the work: we need antagonists to sharpen our discussion and debate skills.

You’re right; dissenting opinions keep people on their toes. But that normally only works when those dissenting opinions construct logical, reasonable arguments that actually require effort to respond to. RM and neo do not do this- they simply cut-and-paste their responses from a small arsenal of antipiracy rhetoric and take extreme measures, including personal attacks and generally immature behavior, to reinforce their points. The “copyright infringement is theft” thing is a good example of that- there exists infringement that is not obviously wrong or immoral (like downloading a copy of a work that is out of print, but still under copyright). Yet Reasoned Mind and neostyles, much like the entertainment industry they defend, would be quick to label even this as piracy and morally attack those who practice and facilitate it.

You can’t reason with them. Your only option if you want to stay sane is to ignore them. And opponents that you have to ignore are not good opponents with which to sharpen your debating skills and your own points of view.