Eric Schmidt: Anti-piracy Laws Disastrous for Free Speech
Wait - is this for real? A large American company openly defying the anti-freedom and totalitarian content industry? In comments in the UK media, Google chairman Eric Schmidt took aim at the big content-sponsored PROTECT IP act. The PROTECT IP act is the US internet censorship (the China kind) law, which more or less takes aim directly against Google. In his criticism, Schmidt went far - very far. The content industry obviously isn’t pleased.
We haven’t really discussed the PROTECT IP act yet, so, well, let’s do that. As Ars details, the law is very encompassing, as it would force search engines, internet providers, credit card companies, and ad networks to block access to ‘rogue sites’ - you know, stuff like The Pirate Bay, or anything else the content industry and/or the US government deems ‘rogue’. You know, like WikiLeaks. Or sites publishing WikiLeaks documents.
Google’s Eric Schmidt is not happy with this law, and he took aim at it in the UK media. …