InTheCapital

Why People Shouldn’t Crucify Twitter for It’s Censorship

by Carl Pierre/@carlpierre

Have you ever purposefully parked in a handicap spot without a permit? How about shoplift from a department store? Maybe hold up a liquor store on the way to work? Casually shoot heroine in your office?

No to all of the above you say?

Well that makes sense, considering that all of those things are illegal in America.

If people aren’t balking at the US enforcing the laws on these particular crimes, then why are people up in arms about Twitter respecting the laws and rules of a foreign nation?

Lately the internet landscape has been a mire of complaints and tirades against the mobile social media company Twitter, persecuting them for purposefully censoring tweets at the behest of local governments that request they be taken down. Twitter’s new censor policy claims that only posts and tweets that contravene local laws will be flagged and taken down.

For most internet users, the recent bout of protests against the online privacy bill in CongressSOPA has brought about a new ideological climate. After many websites participated in the “Black Wednesday” protests, the majority of people on the web now believe that any form of internet censorship is a slippery slope to heavy breaches of First Amendment rights. With wounds still raw from SOPA, people viewed the idea of Twitter blocking tweets as reprehensible as putting duct tape on a protester’s mouth.

In Twitter’s defense, I fully support their new policy of censoring tweets that are flagged as breaking local laws, and here are 3 reasons why:

1. Twitter is still a business that must respect the regulations and practices of foreign nations they wish to operate in. Sometimes business is just business, and pushing an ideological agenda is incredibly inappropriate, particularly upon another country. Most Americans are oblivious to the idea that not all countries run on the same ideology that the United States was founded on, so any sort of law in another country that is perceived as even slightly undemocratic elicits waves of protest from ignorant Americans. Using the banner of free speech is not a political vehicle that allows you to claim immunity to foreign laws.
2. The censored tweets can still be viewed in any other country by any other user, just not in the country of origin. It’s not complete censorship, only within the body of government that the tweet violated laws in. Most people who are railing against this new policy are not the most informed, and don’t understand that the tweets can still be read by other people in other countries. Admittedly it’s not the most ideal method of broadcasting thoughts, but it’s still a way for those voices to be heard.
3. Don’t blame the rules, blame the rule-maker. Why are we vilifying Twitter for abiding by laws they clearly didn’t create? If people have a real beef with this censorship, take it up with the local governments that created and enforce these laws. If your country’s legislation is rubbing you the wrong way, write to your government or even protest if you want, but don’t blame Twitter for respecting the rules.

Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter, has taken a great deal of heat on these issues and responded to recent criticisms with this:

It’s a super complex issue. It takes a while for the scholars and the people who study these matters to weigh in and start to say, ‘Wait, this is actually a thoughtful and honest approach to doing this and it’s in fact being done in a way that’s forward-looking.’ So we wait for that to happen .

I empathize with Costolo for the position he was put in, a position many leaders of booming businesses find themselves:

A rock and a hard place.

By Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

It’s still David versus Goliath, but maybe not for too long. The tech industry may be getting a seat at the table in the coming years…and believe me, they’re paying for it. According to government records recently released, Facebook is projected to have spent well over $1 million in lobbying dollars.  Here is a short wrap from AllFacebook:

While the 2011 lobbying figures will be reported later this month, estimates put the last year’s lobbying budget at $1.35 million.

Papers filed with the U.S. government Friday reveal that Facebook spent $440,000 on lobbying in the last quarter of 2011, up 30 percent from the same period a year ago and a whopping 85 percent increase over the $38,117 spent in 2009.

It certainly would seem like tech companies are trying to buy their way into the conversation in DC—Google is reported to have spent $3.76 million in the last quarter of 2011 alone.

But don’t get too excited. Here’s a quote from a great TheVerge.com article on SOPA that explains the power of certain lobbies in Washington like, oh, say the MPAA: 

Chris Dodd, who served as a senator for thirty years, is now the Chairman and CEO of the MPAA. As a senator, Dodd swore he’d never take money from lobbyists, but he now reaps a $1.5 million base salary and a $100 million lobbying budget. Lobbying is one art form the entertainment industry doesn’t mind investing heavily in: SOPA’s 32 co-sponsors received four times more in campaign contributions from the entertainment industry than from the tech industry.

Facebook is becoming an increasingly political tool for lawmakers and candidates alike. Companies like Socialitical are helping candidates chart and utilize Facebook advertisements to reach optimal audiences and demographics. Similar services are in place for companies like Twitter and Google as well.  

Wait, maybe do get a little excited…maybe…

If the rumblings of a Facebook IPO this Spring are true and the projections aren’t totally off, Zuck and company could stand to raise $10 billion and have a staggering $100 billion valuation. Call us crazy, but we think that $100 billion wouldn’t just buy a seat at the table…it could buy the table itself, which it could then destroy and remake again…out of gold. 

Then again, it remains unclear how the last week’s SOPA drama will change the way the industry works with Washington. Will they try to simply utilize the grassroots power of the internet? Or will they try to buy their influence like the other juggernauts and make their mark as bloodthirsty digital powerjunkies? 

Times are a changing in Washington. It stands to be a slow burn, but this much is clear: we want a front row seat for this show.

By Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

We will be updating this post with reactions as they appear…

It would appear, ladies and gentlemen, that the internet truly has won. That’s right, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the leading advocate and sponsor of the Stop Online Privacy Act, has agreed to pull the legislation from the House. This comes just hours after Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV) tweeted that he was delaying the PIPA vote in the Senate. Here are the sweet, sweet words of retreat, straight from the horse’s mouth:

I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.

Ka-boom.

The Reaction…

Overwhelmingly positive. Even ‘he who must not be named’ is on board:

Hacker collective, Anonymous celebrated the win, but cautioned that the fight is still on-going:

Facebook said on their Washington DC page that they were relieved:

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), staunch opponent of the bill was in good spirits, receiving kudos from the online community:

How it Happened…

On Wednesday millions of people took to the internet in protest, and their voice was heard by Congress, many of whom took to Twitter to ‘re-examine’ the bill (via Twitter’s Adam Sharp’s Storify):

The result looked a little like this (via ProPublica’s SopaOpera):

By Carl Pierre / @carlpierre

For the many decrying SOPA and damning their Congressional Representatives for allowing this slight against their internet freedoms to happen on their watch, how many actually know what SOPA will do?

Few and far between I bet.

So for all you hopping on the Anti-SOPA bandwagon, please take the time to educate yourself on what SOPA will actually do. And just to make it easier on you, I have included a nifty little infograph that should help you digest the information. I know you’re probably use to diagrams drawn in crayon, but this will simply have to do.

[image via imageshack]

[image via reveredreview]

By Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

This morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the controversial anti-piracy legislation would be pushed back from its scheduled time necktie Tuesday.

Here is the quote via a Tweet:

‘In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT IP Act,’

[image via abcnews]

By Carl Pierre / @carlpierre

Those hackers we’ve come to know and love have done it again.

Last night the FBI and the Justice Department started a massive crackdown on the infamous file-sharing site Megaupload, arresting and indicting seven of the executives that run the company. Officials charged the site with flagrantly disobeying copyright laws and protections, and required the site be shutdown indefinitely. 

This did not go over so well with the online community. Once the news of the site’s demise hit the internet, forums were flooded with bloggers and users venting their anger and frustration at Megaupload’s shutdown.

Anonymous, the network of hackers that are infamous for their nefarious attacks on corporations and government sites, decided to launch a series of DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks on the FBI’s main website as well as the Justice Department’s site rendering a few of them inaccessible for several hours.The group also targeted Universal Music, Motion PIcture Association of America, Recording Industry Association of America, and the U.S. Copyright Office, all of whom they believe played a heavy hand in pushing for a shutdown of Megaupload’s operation. 

The attacks, cleverly named “Operation Donkey Punch” by Anonymous members, is the largest attack ever with 5,635 users helping in the effort. 

I suppose the wounds are still pretty raw from the SOPA protests on Wednesday, and online emotions continue to run high. I’m assuming this is why Anonymous retaliated with such force against different government agencies and copyright-concerned organizations. Buzz on the internet says these attacks are not over yet, so I’m curious to see what organization or group Anonymous puts in it’s crosshairs next.

By Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

We were watching the debate and began salivating when a question from the ‘world wide web’ mentioned SOPA. Here are the answers as hastily transcribed while watching.

Gingrich:

By Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel

BuzzFeed (which finds just about the best stuff this side of the interwebs) noticed that there are quite a few people, presumably the elderly and those with AOL email accounts and Netscape Navigator 3.2 as their browser, who seem to think that Google’s Facebook fan page is some sort of a search engine. Frankly, I’m surprised we haven’t found a Congressperson in here. Here are just some of the gems:

THE EMBARRASSING PORN SEEKERS: Shame. Regret. Morons. If you’re using the internet to look at porn, you gotta at least kinda/sorta know how the internet works, right? Wrong.

my personal favorite…

THE CONFUSED: Poor Shirley just wants some medical advice…could somebody please get her to a medical health professional, please?!

THE WTF: Seriously…like whaaaa?

check out the full list here at BuzzFeed

THE BUZZKILL: To jump on our serious pedestal for a moment: We freakish and hermetic denizens of the internet forget all too often that there are a bunch of people out there without broadband access and who just don’t understand/want/need to care about how the internet works. We obviously have no problem with that…it’s just terrifying when those people happen to be members of congress. 

We’d also like to note that InTheCapital loves and enjoys support from all age groups. In fact, some of our favorite people are in their golden years. We’re looking at you, Grams.

[Lead Image By georgieflower.wordpress.com]