The Billion Dollar Book

Landmark Sydney legal ruling sets precedent for wholesale devastation of
Internet news websites and blogs

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Wednesday, December 20, 2006

A landmark legal ruling in Sydney goes further than ever before in setting the trap door for the destruction of the Internet as we know it and the end of alternative news websites and blogs by creating the precedent that simply linking to other websites is breach of copyright and piracy.

Following our report last month that an RIAA legal argument would, if the case was eventually won, criminalize simply making files available on the Internet, many readers scoffed at the serious implications of the case. Such a precedent would change the entire face of the Internet because "making files available" is so loosely defined it could criminalize simply placing links on ones website or blog to other websites.

And that's exactly what has now happened in Sydney, where an Australian federal court has opened the door for simply linking to other websites to be classified as piracy.

A landmark ruling was upheld against Stephen Cooper, who ran a website which acted as search engine for locating and downloading MP3's not from his own website but from other MP3 download websites. Cooper was charged with piracy and his ISP is also being targeted for not shutting down his website quickly enough.


Comment:

The article goes on by Paul Watson, however, stop it here and make a comment.

I hope that people see the lunacy of laws that we now have—laws not just in Australia, but all over the world and covering very area of life.

Only a decade or two ago such a law would not even be entertained, much less up held in court. Now all of that has changed.

To put the meaning of such a law on a more personal level, it would be like you told a friend about a book, gave the title to, and commented on it a little, and suggested that he buy it. This would be illegal if such a law was enforced making linking illegal AND if the government was consistent in applying this across the board.

Say you were in a book store with a friend and you point to a book and say, “Hey, check this book on how to buy real estate at below market prices.” So your friend would go to the book and read a bit in it. Then some ‘book cop’ comes over and arrests you—because, after all you linked to the book which is copyright!

In short, both the linking from your web site or blog to another web site or blog will be illegal. And if the government is consistent they will be arresting people for pointing out, lending or telling of books that are copyrighted.

Only time will tell if such a law will be enforced—first in Australia where this law was passed, and if another such laws made in other nations. Will be rebel and cause a violent revolution? Who knows, but it would be justified my millions.

Needless to say, if you are reading this or doing anything on the Internet, this is of major concern to you and your freedom of information. For all of this is done to control the freedom of information.

The future might be something like this:

This law making linking an ‘infringement of copyright’ would be up held in other countries, especially in the USA and the UK where there are special interest groups that want to see the type of Internet that we have now come to an end.

What you can expect to see is, they will say you have until (some date six months from now) to take off all the links or be fined. Or they might say you have until (date) to switch over to Internet 2, where there will be total regulation and payment for everything—even previous free email. Of course, you would have to be approved by some government board that you would put out new and information that is ‘approved’ by this board, which in turn is the Establishment line of what is politically correct.

So, this is their back door to close down the Internet we now have and to replace it with a completely controlled Internet—where not everyone will be allowed to have a web site.

This ‘Internet 2’ is already up. Now it’s just a matter of getting people to switch over before it will go online. And the only way to get people to switch over—both web site owners (those that are approved) and viewers, would be to make it a law that would force people to switch over, such as this law that was passed in Australia.

Remember the old Marlborough cigarette commercial: “I’d rather fight than switch!”

So, what will it be people of Earth?