Changes between Version 1 and Version 2 of metrospoof


Ignore:
Timestamp:
Jul 5, 2010, 11:16:28 PM (14 years ago)
Author:
Jamie McClelland
Comment:

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  • metrospoof

    v1 v2  
    1 Recent events, including a spasm of legal threats and demands for site take-down, underscore the threat represented in the bullying use of copyright law to curtail free speech and stifle political commentary.
     1= Bullying use of copyright law fails to stifle political commentary =
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    3 The case is among the first trans-Atlantic copyright/free speech Internet cases in recent memory. It involves a small site, metr0.co.uk, which is a spoof of a free tabloid specializing in celbrity gossip and distributed widely in England by the Associated Newspapers Ltd company.
     3== Trans-Atlantic collaboration keeps site running ==
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    5 The spoof site was created and launched by NAME of ORGANIZATION, an activist organization in England.
     5Due to trans-Atlantic collaboration, metr0.co.uk is still up and running. The site is a spoof of http://metro.co.uk, tabloid specializing in celebrity gossip and distributed widely in England by the Associated Newspapers Ltd company.
     6
     7The spoof site was created by Plentyfact, an activist organization in England, in response to a call for two days of action against racist press and in conjunction with a printed version of the paper.
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    79The website is hosted in the United States on one of May First/People Link's servers managed by the Tachanka collective, an MF/PL member.
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    9 The spoof newspaper, which offers satirical treatment of and tongue in cheek commentary on political news, was originally printed and distributed for a day during early June, 2010 and the website was launched simultaneously to support the printed paper's distribution.
    10 
    1111Neither printed or web versions bear much resemblance to the spoofed tabloid except the colors and type-style of the logo and the printed name.
    1212
    13 Lawyers for the company, however, immediately launched a frenzied campaign to pressure everyone and anyone associated with the website to remove it. They contacted many different organizations they believed might be affiliated with the site, providers of both web content and dns services and, finally, send over a dozen emails to May First/People Link. The emails demanded that the site be immediately removed and cited a recent "High Court Order" finding the site to be in violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
     13Lawyers for Associated Newspaper Ltd, however, immediately launched a frenzied campaign to pressure everyone and anyone associated with the website to remove it. They contacted many different organizations they believed might be affiliated with the site, providers of both web content and DNS services and, finally, send over a dozen emails to May First/People Link. The emails demanded that the site be immediately removed and cited a recent "High Court Order" finding the site to be in violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
    1414
    1515DMCA is a ten year old law that defines copyright for on-line materials and lays out processes for defining, curing and punishing infringement. It has been consistently denounced by Internet and free speech activists as repressively broad and in violation of fundamental free speech principles.
    … …  
    2323"In any case," Lopez said. "If you're going to tell us we're violating your rights, you need to show us how and where. They haven't even bothered doing that."
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    2625May First/People Link is a politically progressive membership organization specializing in Internet work, one of the largest in the world with 300 organizations and about 100 individuals as members. It provides Internet resource to over 2,000 progressive activists in this country and is a leader in technology work at such events as the World and U.S. Social Forums.