Sunday, September 16, 2012

Gagged!!


Just as modernization comes with a hefty price, advancements in technology also come with its own pros and cons. It is of common knowledge that the underground business of pirated CDs and DVDs proliferated in the Metro until some got busted by the Optical Media Board together with other law enforcement agencies. We need not go into how those operators manufactured those pirated CDs and DVDs. It is sufficient that we know that the movies or records contained therein were obtained illegally. Therefore, a form of infringement.  Now, how about if the source is the internet?

I am not being cynical but I don’t think that we have enough resources to counter online activities done illegally. I am not even sure if we have the right people in town. But this does not mean to say that I will start a tolerance-campaign for “online-pirates.”  Thus, mixed emotions surged my being when proposed measures against hacking, online piracy, plagiarism and other related matters reached my ears.

In the United States, early this year the SOPA, short for Stop Online Piracy Act, and PIPA, or the Protect Intellectual Property Act, started making noises. Allegedly, “SOPA and PIPA aim to protect intellectual property and counterfeit drugs.” [1]  But as part of the consequences, “many believed that it will pose a much greater threat to the online community as this will affect e-commerce and the way people share knowledge/ information on the internet.”[2]  

Also, in New Zealand, the celebrated “three- strikes rule” has cut down the frequency of online piracy into half.  Based on statistics, this is a significant endeavor on the part of the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). How did they do it? Simple. The RIANZS already sent out “2, 766 infringement letters.”[3]

What is this “three-strike rule?”  To put it simply, the rule contemplates a situation where an “account holder receives two notices, or strikes, per rights owner from the Internet Service Provider and then, after the account holder receives the third strike within 9 months, the rights owner can apply to the Copyright Tribunal for a penalty.” [4] Under the rule, the “first strike is called a Detection Notice, the second a Warning notice and the third an enforcement notice.”[5] Personally, I don’t think that this will work in the kind of bureaucracy that we have. Plus the fact that, correct me if I’m wrong, if the third offense should be given notice within 9 months after the sending out of the second notice, then, this will only give online pirates a means to circumvent the law.

The Philippines may be lagging behind other countries in terms of measures taken against online piracy and hacking. But as they say, better to be late than never. If, for instance, the “three-strikes rule would be implemented in the country, it would be receiving clamor nationwide.  It should be noted that under the “three-strikes rule,” the mere act of file sharing, defined under the law as,  “material uploaded or downloaded from the Internet; and using an application or network that enables the simultaneous sharing of  material between multiple users.”[6] In my meager understanding of the world of computers, I have to ask these questions: Does it mean that no more yahoo groups? No more scribd? If the answers would be all yes, then, it would seem like we would be back to Stone Age. For sure, there are alternative ways of protecting copyrighted online articles or materials. Congress should scrutinize the law first before passing it.

We should have laws. Yes. We should stop online piracy. Yes. But we Filipinos, as lovers of freedom and democracy, should have better laws. Not a law that would gag us. Not a law that would cater to the whims of the few. Not a law that would serve as a blanket against remarks that would definitely touch a soft spot. If Congress wants to stop online piracy, then, formulate better parameters.
What will happen to the so-called freedom of expression and association? How about every Filipino’s right to privacy of communication and correspondence? What about everyone’s right to learn and to be educated? Education first before prosecution. Have we forgotten the mandates of the Highest Law of our Land? Or do our law-makers only want to be part of the trend?

Let the ZTE-Broadband deal be our benchmark on this. If ever the time will come that this proposal will be materialized, I hope that it will be free from personal interests, which I doubt because wherever modernization lands, the pockets of those who are tasked to implement it, thickens.

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