American ISPs to launch massive copyright spying scheme on July 12

pparks1 said:

The solution is simple, stop pirating stuff, or potentially pay a crazy fine if caught.

The solution is not that simple, because one may not be pirating anything at all, and still be accused of doing so.

pparks1 said:

perhaps, but i can pretty much guarantee that an accusation of piracy on my systems would turn up absolutely nothing.

From what I've read, it wouldn't matter if your computer was clean or not, because that would only be relevant in a process with a body with a true legal purview. Even if for some reason it got that far, the current state of the computer would not necessarily reflect it's past state. The bottom line is that it wouldn't matter in the least whether your computer was clean or not, because they don't need any proof.

seekermeister said:

pparks1 said:

perhaps, but i can pretty much guarantee that an accusation of piracy on my systems would turn up absolutely nothing.

From what I've read, it wouldn't matter if your computer was clean or not, because that would only be relevant in a process with a body with a true legal purview. Even if for some reason it got that far, the current state of the computer would not necessarily reflect it's past state. The bottom line is that it wouldn't matter in the least whether your computer was clean or not, because they don't need any proof.

Exactly. And don't forget the Mega Upload case going on right now... when they shut it down, they shut it ALL down. They made no effort to distinguish between pirated materials and legitimate content, everybody and everything was presumed guilty. To this day, the legally uploaded unpirated material is still off limits, and the user's inconvenience is of NO importance to the authorities.

pparks1 said:

I think most of the people who spend so much time worrying about the "what-ifs" are likely those who might have an issue because of things they have done in the past.

I don't have problems with the police pulling me over for speeding, when I'm not speeding. I don't have problems getting accused of murder when I haven't committed a murder. I don't think my ISP is likely going to be warning me, or shutting down my access because they believe I "might" have done something wrong.

I'm glad that you have such faith in our system of government, but this issue is not one that involves the government, therefore it is wrong to compare one situation to another. At least, with the government if you are falsely accused (and people have been falsely accused), you have the chance to defend yourself. That is not the case here.

Even if you are never involved in this type of action, doesn't it bother you at least a little that someone else most likely will be, that shouldn't have been?

EDIT: Apparently, you have never driven through some of our nations notorious speed traps, like Nolanville, Texas. They have a short piece of highway going through their jurisdiction, where they make many small speed limit changes, and if they catch you exceeding any of them by 1 mph, they will pull you over and ticket you. However, your right to defend yourself doesn't mean much, because their court supports these actions...that is the way that they fund their city far beyond what is actually needed.