US Government Takes Down File Sharing Websites

Tempest in a teapot that just illustrates how antiquated government control of information has become.

Now we'll see the internet do what it was originally designed to do - de-centralize communication channels so they can't be blocked or turned off. The feds can only take control/shut down urls based in the U.S. They can't block access to sites on servers outside the U.S. They just succeeded in moving more websites to offshore hosts.

 

One sovereignty is going to find it extraordinarily difficult at best to control the world wide web. Globally available information will need a global entity to govern/control it. While sites based outside the US are not currently under the authority of US law don't assume that nothing can be done about our access to them.

Your underestimation of government authority as antiquated is the perfect cover for an internet savvy government who would enter into international agreements brokered by corporate interests that would block access to sites not willing to play ball and protect the profitability of intellectual rights on behalf of the entities who would make money off them. The sites may be outside jurisdictions but most ISPs are not.

 

I feel like this was entirely a showing of power. The government is flexing its muscles. Recently there was some bill to be pushed through which would allow corporations and associations like the RIAA and MPAA to censor the internet and flow of information, but when it came to congress, the house, senate, whomever, there were some who were opposed to the bill - while the bill's authors had hoped it would get through unnoticed and unopposed. I feel like this is the government saying that this is going to happen one way or another. It looks like they're just shutting down counterfeit websites but it's a pretty serious threat, I think.