It is finally upon us, for months there has been talk that the Canadian Government would introduce there reformed copyright law and without further ado a major shake up in not only the copyright law but Canadian lives is about to take place. As it seems with most governments these days ours is about to buckle to influence from some of the United States biggest corporations and will ultimately lead to a major breach in ones internet privacy.
I’ve been talking about this for months and for anyone that reads this and just shrugs it off I dont think you appreciate the value of what this law is proposing. We’ve all heard horror stories of US College kids, families, and even early teens getting sued for $20,000 plus as the result of downloading a copyrighted song through a P2P file sharing program (Limewire, iMesh, Shareaza etc). Well friends if this law sees the light of day you to could be faced with the consequence of being served and having to fork over upwards to $20,000 per song.
Still not worried? Take all the DVD’s, CD’s, legally purchased MP3′s and burn them onto a backup CD. Guess what, you’re committing copyright infringment and if caught will be prosecuted the same. It’s crazy to think that when one buys a product either online or at a store it still wont technically belong to you.
If you don’t think you can get caught for downloading one song think again as it could become very apparent that such companies like Shaw and Telus will now be forced to hand over the details of ones IP address which leads the bad guys straight to your house. For years the RIAA and MPAA have requested such details on Canadian IP’s but Telus has refused saying it would be a breach in privacy. What I do in my own home should be my own business no?
Of course there will be ways to protect yourself, *cough cough like encrypted downloads* but the fact of the matter is this law will open a door to all kinds of ridiculousness. The United States is apparently already taking action at US Customs and searching Ipods, Laptops, and Cellphones looking for any illegal material. I’d be willing to be that having this bill pass in Canada will ultimately lead to some sort of the same situation happening at our border. Imagine not being able to leave the country with an Ipod or Laptop because you have a few songs you wanted to listen to.
The balance of what will be illegal and what wont still remains to be seen but this will have a major effect on our everyday lives. Even something as simple as recording a television show on your PVR may wind up being illegal.
But hey, if you dont care and get searched at customs or slapped with a lawsuit dont say I didn’t warn you. If you are even somewhat worried visit this site www.modchip.ca/store/join/join.html and let your MP know how you feel.
Walks
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