The Martlet

BIG BROTHER MAY BE OUT OF HIS LEAGUE

COLIN EDGE

The shutting down of file-sharing website Megaupload on Thursday, Jan. 19 was an attempt to dominate a larger framework of free social interaction that is inherently beyond the control of any single entity, including the U.S. government. PIPA (Protect Internet Protocol Act) was a proposed law to protect against copyright infringement. Had the law been passed, the U.S. government would have had dictatorial power over Internet activity. It would force popular social networking sites, file sharing sites and search engines to undergo continual self scrutiny to prevent linking to material that potentially infringes on copyright. A single link on someone’s Facebook page could lead to website terminations, job losses and major lawsuits. The U.S. government didn’t notify Megaupload executives, or gave them an opportunity to challenge in court before shutting down the website. The government alleged Megaupload executives were engaged in a “conspiracy” to intentionally upload copyright infringing material, and accused Megaupload of depriving copyright owners of some $500 million. While the U.S. government’s claim lacked factual evidence, its termination of Megaupload was uncontested, which is what concerns supporters of the free-domain Internet. Acts like PIPA threaten to establish a big-brother state environment, similar to that of state dictatorships — or George Orwell’s 1984, in which individual actions are continually monitored by the government. In this environment, holding offenders accountable will be a challenge for government officials. Not all two billion Internet users are infringing on copyright, yet those connected to an offender are likely to experience consequences nonetheless. Such is the case for many Megaupload subscribers now seeking refunds.

The free-domain Internet is not necessarily regulation-free, but rather necessarily self-regulated to an extent. Internet etiquette is a shared stock of knowledge among Web surfers that reinforces a reciprocity system holding individuals accountable for their actions. For instance, video uploaders on Youtube often give credit in the video summary for borrowed material; otherwise, viewers have the ability to whistleblow through the site’s feedback system. Users can also “like,” “dislike” and “flag” a video based on its content. While disrupting these organic self-regulatory systems will likely cause social unrest, copyright infringement continues to go unpunished in many cases.

However, the reaction to the FBI’s investigation suggests this is not the government’s battle. Following Megaupload’s termination, the public websites of the Justice Department, Universal Music and two other major corporations in the music and film industries were promptly attacked by hackers. Perhaps resolving Internet conflict is best left to skilled technology and software engineering graduates, who possess the necessary skills, and sophisticated understanding of Internet protocol and etiquette. While Internet conflict resolution is potentially an economically stimulating field of employment, it’s made an unnecessary burden and major government expenditure under PIPA, as demonstrated by the $50-million cost for deploying the FBI.

The fact that Internet activity is inherently beyond government control is a hard pill for the U.S. government to swallow. History suggests social unrest ensues when government embarks on micromanaging its citizens, and disrupting the free-domain Internet is likely to create more problems than solutions for the online piracy issue. Perhaps the solution is innovative anti-piracy technology not yet created, but government dictatorial control is likely not the answer.