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The anti-privacy EARN IT Act could change the internet as we know it
- joeblow9999 6y agoits a disaster in the making. it absolutely needs to be stopped
- smartbit 6y agoprevious discussions https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%22earn%20it%20act%22 https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%22earn%20it%20act%22
- lowmemcpu 6y agoGlad you posted this but... This is one of those multi-day, multi-faceted topics that need us to have many conversations until it's stopped. Recall the SOPA & PIPA protests of last decade: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_SOPA_and_PIPA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_SOPA_and_PIPA There were more than a few discussions here
- ocdtrekkie 6y agoHN doesn't really need constant repeat of political promotion. It's been discussed, if there's nothing new happening, it probably doesn't belong on HN.
- ericd 6y agoRequiring everyone to discuss this every few years seems like a surefire strategy to exhaust people. It normalizes the idea, if nothing else. So the question is how do we get it so that supporting ending effective encryption is a political third rail that ends political careers? Because that seems like the only way to get this to stop coming up until it eventually passes. Feinstein seems to be a perpetual supporter of this kind of thing. But she keeps getting voted in by CA of all places. The full list of PIPA supporters according to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Members_of_the_U.S._Congress_who_support_or_oppose_SOPA/PIPA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Members_of_the_U.S._Co...): Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Bob Casey, Jr. (D-PA) Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Thad Cochran (R-MS) Chris Coons (D-DE) Bob Corker (R-TN) Dick Durbin (D-IL) Mike Enzi (R-WY) Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Al Franken (D-MN) Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Chuck Grassley (R-IA) Withdrawn 1/18/12[11] Kay Hagan (D-NC) Johnny Isakson (R-GA) Tim Johnson (D-SD) Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Herb Kohl (D-WI) Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) John McCain (R-AZ) Bob Menendez (D-NJ) Bill Nelson (D-FL) Jim Risch (R-ID) Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Tom Udall (D-NM) Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
- pmoriarty 6y ago"Requiring everyone to discuss this every few years seems like a surefire strategy to exhaust people" The older generation may get exhausted, but fortunately there's Eternal September at play, where newer generations constantly arrive, start to become politically aware, and have fresh energy. In order to continue to effect change we need to continually educate and re-educate people on what's going on and why. "Feinstein seems to be a perpetual supporter of this kind of thing. But she keeps getting voted in by CA of all places." Yeah, I really don't get California Democrats' unwavering support for Feinstein.. but then again, they've elected quite a few Republican governors as well, which I also don't understand. On the other hand, contrary to popular belief, California is not an overwhelmingly Democratic state... there are a fair number of Republicans in office and even when Republicans lose they often manage to get 40% or more of the vote... not the 0% or 10% that's probably in the popular imagination of what California is like.
- ericd 6y agoIt’s a pretty bipartisan list, I’m more surprised because CA has a large tech industry which could be hurt by loss of trust in US tech at home and abroad.
- salawat 6y agoThis is the first time I've heard anyone mention Eternal September in a positive sense. Congratulations on finding the silver lining!
- thephyber 6y ago> But she keeps getting voted in by CA of all places. Never underestimate the power of the national party to protect seniority by supporting those campaigns. Seniority brings with it more power on committees.
- frankharv 6y agoAl Franken got cancelled so that must be an old list. After the whole FISA/Steel Report/FBI affair we are now supposed to trust the government with our secrets?
- dang 6y agoYou can also use "comments>N" and "points>N" to narrow down to the major threads, a la https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=comments%3E5%20%22earn%20it%22&sort=byDate&type=story&storyText=none https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
- smartbit 6y agoThanks @dang
- jjcon 6y agoJust please go read the latest versions of the bill people https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3398/text https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/339... A ton of companies stand to lose by this bill so it may be wise to adopt some skepticism towards all the doom and gloom. This bill is ever evolving and they have been closing the gaps people were worried about re encryption(and now there are complaints about new issues). Are there holes that could be exploited, perhaps but a lot of them have been closed. I know it isn’t popular to say it but this isn’t turning out to be nearly as draconian as most people are making out to be.
- blitmap 6y agoIf it has any chance of passing, it could very much cripple the tech sector in the US and make us less competitive. On the other side of the coin, this is not going to stop individuals from using encryption that isn't broken. It would be ugly to see what it does in commercial spaces, and to your average citizen whose data is less protected. I think it would force a knowledgeable subcommunity further into the shadows while everything else burns.
- jjcon 6y agoYou replied to my comment but you didn’t even read the bill. Read the amendments, they specifically outline that the scope of this bill will not impact encryption laws (which they added specifically because of all the fear-mongering brought by the companies that stand to lose from this bill).
- jjoonathan 6y agoI have to admit, I like the look of that amendment. That said, I also liked the look of the part in the ACA where Medicare Part D would be allowed to bargain for drug prices. Pity it wound up on the cutting room floor while I wasn't watching. I wonder how that happened?
- trianglem 6y agoThere is nothing in this bill worth having. What exactly are you supporting here?
- yarrel 6y ago"...the newly amended version of the bill essentially gives state lawmakers the ability to regulate the internet, according to Joe Mullin, a policy analyst with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who broke down the censorship risks posed by the measure should it become law. "All 50 states will be able to write new Internet rules that online platforms and websites will have to follow,""
- theferalrobot 6y agoI’m 99% sure that that is already the case (and has been).
- Nasrudith 6y agoIt is a matter of enforcibility. Alabama can try to ban say women with exposed ankles and you as an operator of a website in California can tell the DA in a notorized letter to go fuck themselves because they lack jurisdiction.
- shmerl 6y agoThere should be a wider protest to sink this nonsense.
- LatteLazy 6y agoHere in the UK similar laws were referred to as a Snoopers Charter. This was good PR against them as it was catchy and unattractive. Don't call these acts by their "name" (which is just someone's bullshit acronym to make it sound harmless). Call it "the tax on freedom" or "government in your bedroom" law. That's how you get the 99% to decide they don't like it.
- JoeSmithson 6y agoWhat similarities do you see between EARN IT and IPA?
- StanislavPetrov 6y agoThere are so many awful things about this bill that its hard to know where to begin. What makes it especially ridiculous is that it does nothing to prevent people with even basic technical knowledge from sending encrypted communications. At the end of the day, encryption is simply math. You can't outlaw math.