The Best and Worst US Internet Laws

An anonymous reader writes "When a US legislator describes the Internet as a 'series of tubes' you just know that you're going to end up with some wacky laws on the books. Law professor Eric Goldman takes a look at the best and worst Internet laws in the U.S. Goldman offers an analysis of the biggies such as the DMCA, but also shines light on lesser-known laws like the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002. And he actually finds four Internet laws that aren't all bad."

While we're discussing terrible internet laws...

[Odiumjunkie]

I strongly urge any European slashdot denizens to contact their MEP(s) and advise them to vote for amendments to IPRED2 on the twenty-fifth of April. There's a BoingBoing post about it *here* [boingboing.net], please don't let Cory's well-intentioned hyperbole sway you away from action.

The ammendments would-

* LIMIT the scope of IPRED2 to true criminal enterprises, involving copyright piracy and trademark violations done on a commercial scale, with malice and the intention of earning a profit from the enterprise, rather than criminalizing all intellectual property infringement as the current directive does; * AVOID creating an unprecedented scope of secondary liability for Internet intermediaries, ICTs, software vendors and a range of legitimate business activity, by removing the words "aiding or abetting and inciting" from Article 3. * PROVIDE LEGAL CERTAINTY by adopting precise and appropriate definitions of "on a commercial scale" and "intentional infringement" in Article 2 as commercial activity done with the intent to earn a profit directly attributable to the infringing activity.

There's some more info *here* [copycrime.eu].

Re:US lawmakers dont understand global Internet

[heinousjay]

While your rant is on target for a limited subset of the laws listed, it doesn't actually cover them all substantively.

In particular, there are laws on the books regulating US Government behavior regarding the Internet, amongst other things, which is certainly within Congress's purview.

I suppose knowing that wouldn't have stopped you from making your anti-US post, since in most circumstances that's worth an easy +2 to karma, but I hope you apply a little more understanding and a little less kneejerk reactionism in the future.

Biased toward copyright/anticompetive behavior

[Aoreias]

How could there be no mention in this article of Title 18 1029, 1030, 2510, and 2701, which, among other things, makes most of the following illegal in most circumstances

• Possession of counterfeit credentials involving interstate commerce, such as credit card numbers
• Accessing a computer in an unauthorized manner
• Gaining privileges in excess of those otherwise granted
• Unauthorized wiretaps

While our ability to exercise certain rights is important, let us not forget that we also need the ability to restrict others from trespass and fraud.

18 USC 2257

[irc.goatse.cx troll]

They missed one of the worst, 18 USC 2257, which makes a large chunk of internet sites impossible to run legally, like any site where people are uploading content or streaming video. This includes anonymous rateme sites like ratemyboobies, flashyourrack, and arguably even things like tinypic, flickr, and photobucket.

Of course nobody will admit to hating it as it protects the children and if you dont like it you're a creepy pedophile.

Impossible to hate the law because it makes distributors have to keep a copy of everything they distribute (technologically impossible for a cam site, not enough storage exists), makes pornstars give up a lot more personal info that all needs kept on file, even though they're usually the type that would want to stay anonymous or at least not have random guys able to come find and rape them, and makes it impossible for a girl to randomly post a tit picutre on a forum, imageboard, or whatever.

Nope. None of those are valid complaints. Don't like the law = want to dick an 8 year old. Must be why it was left out from the article.

Re:Best and worst?

[Nf1nk]

The laws don't do anything, Law enforcement does.

As with most laws, there was an old law that did the job and would have continued doing the job just fine if it had just been enforced. The fun part is that the new law will likely be enforced with all the vigor of the old law and the problem will continue unsolved.

Missing: CAN-SPAM ACT

[merc]

The CAN-SPAM act is terrible legislation, not because of what it attempted to accomplish, but because of what it actually accomplished: Nothing. Even worse, it failed to criminalize spam, effectively legitimizing it.

Aside from that the law has no real teeth. You can't seek redress from spammers unless you're an Attorney General or an ISP.