An image from the controversial copyright-focused COICA bill
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — In a post made this week, the Electronic Freedom Foundation (www.eff.org) denounced MasterCard’s support for the passage of the currently-in-the-works Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, which it refers to – presumably glibly – as the “Internet Censorship and Copyright Bill.”
While the news of MasterCard’s support for the bill – which could require the credit card company to suspend its services to certain websites considered within the bill’s parameters to be threats for copyright infringement – was first reported in early December, the opinion published this week is based in part on the WikiLeaks saga in late 2010, which saw many service providers shutting down services to the whistle blowing website as a kind of pre-emptive measure.
The EFF post calls out other service providers, including web hosts and domain registrars.
“All too often web hosts, domain name registrars and other service providers cave at the slightest legal or government pressure,” it says, “with disastrous consequences for their users.”
COICA was approved in November by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and sent to the Senate for consideration.
The reason cited by the EFF (and often by other free-speech advocates) for opposing COICA is the incremental elimination of steps in the process required to shut down potentially infringing sites (and consequently other sites considered “bad” somehow).
“[COICA] offers a new process for shutting down websites deemed “bad sites” without appropriate safeguards to prevent the takedown of noninfringing content,” says the post, “including political and other speech. In effect, it enlists service providers as censors, necessarily hampering Internet commerce and innovation.”
The major objections to COICA often seem to have to do with the section that would offer legal immunity to service providers who voluntarily shut down sites deemed “dedicated to infringing,” without judicial review.
Opponents say the process could stifle innovative sites like YouTube (which might, at one point, have seemed to meet that criteria) in their infancy.
“MasterCard might decide to stop processing payments to popular hosting sites such as RapidShare,” says the post, “even though at least one court has ruled that RapidShare likely is not guilty of infringement. Given the importance of a consistent revenue streams to emerging companies, blocking payments might effectively mean putting them out of business.”
It requires just a few simple searches to reveal, however, that RapidShare – while possibly not itself guilty of infringement – is a favorite tool of people involved in pirating copyrighted material. The bill could influence sites like RapidShare to be more active in enforcing their terms of service.
About Liam Eagle
Liam Eagle has worked as a contributor to the Web Host Industry Review since its inception in 2000, and as editor since 2003. He has been editor of the WHIR's print magazine since its launch. His daily involvement in the gathering and reporting of Web hosting news and his regular interaction with Web hosting leaders gives him an uncommonly broad appreciation of the issues and tends facing the business. Through his WHIR blog, Liam spots Web hosting trends and offers opinions on the industry-wide impacts of major developments and the motivation behind big announcements. Follow him on Twitter @liameagle
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