Yay! :)
Here's the link
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Yay! :)
Here's the link
thats good i guess, think it was all a distraction so people wouldn't fight NDAA which was passed during all this.
Yup, that's a really scary one. :(
...........
We still have PIPA to worry about.
we keep starting new threads on SOPA / PIPA ... but never catch up with the 'truth' of the situation. Indeed the SOPA / PIPA scheduled votes are being pulled from the congressional schedule. The reason for this is that the 'Optics are Bad' for both bills as presently written - primarily involving the single point of 'domain blocking'. Plans now call for a re-write of both bills with the 'domain blocking' provisions eliminated. This will dispel the hue and cry over 'internet censorship', and is actually scheduled to begin 'behind closed doors' tomorrow. However, the existing provisions which provide for gov't mandates that Visa, MasterCard, online credit card payment processors etc. stop processing customer credit card charges for non-US websites based on 'accusations' of piracy / copyright violations will remain intact !!!
from
(snip)"In a statement, Smith said he concluded that the SOPA legislation's backers should remove the domain name access provision "so that the Committee can further examine the issues surrounding this provision."
"We will continue to look for ways to ensure that foreign websites cannot sell and distribute illegal content to U.S. consumers," Smith said.
Smith noted that the legislation still contains provisions to "follow the money" -- cutting off the funding of foreign sites from ad networks and payment processors. A provision that allows private parties to bring claims against foreign sites by obtaining a court order to require that ad networks and payment processors stop the money flow remains. The legislation still contains provisions that would require search engines to disable links to such "rogue" sites.
The House Judiciary Committee adjourned in December before the completion of a markup hearing on the bill. It was apparent then that the legislation had enough votes to pass out of the committee, but opponents have mounted a fierce effort against the legislation since then, with some vowing to campaign against the bill's supporters in their re-election races and pressuring web-hosting service GoDaddy to shift its stance from supporter to opponent.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), one of the chief opponents of the legislation, has proposed an alternative bill that would attempt to combat piracy via the International Trade Commission. He also has scheduled a Jan. 18 hearing before the House Oversight Committee, which he chairs, to examine the impact of domain name and search blocking on cybersecurity.
On Thursday, the chief sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), said he would propose that the domain name blocking provision of the bill be studied before implementation. Nevertheless, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) indicated that even if the provision were removed, he still would be opposed to the legislation because of other aspects of the bill. And as opponents flood congressional offices with e-mails and phone calls, there are signs that some previous supporters are reconsidering. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a co-sponsor of the legislation, said on Friday that he would not vote for final passage of the legislation "as currently written." House Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that he would call for a cloture vote on Jan. 24, but there has been pressure on him to postpone. [ which has just happened - sic ]"(snip)
So the likely result, where foreign webcam hosts are concerned, will be that US customers will still be able to access StreaMates and other non-US based webcam host sites. However, they WON'T be able to transfer money to those non-US based webcam hosts since the SOPA law will force US based online credit card processors to prohibit any such transactions. This defuses the potential issue of internet censorship !!! US customers will still have the 'right' to view FREE StreaMates and other non-US based webcam host site content. They simply won't be allowed to spend money to purchase paid content ! This end result will still satisfy the major proponents ( a.k.a. political contributors ) of SOPA / PIPA, namely the US movie industry, the US record industry, US performer's unions, etc. since the provisions that will still 'cut off' foreign competitors' access to US customer money will also still 'eliminate the competition' from a business standpoint. However, I doubt that too many camgirls will be relieved that their 'right' to produce a FREE video stream on a foreign based webcam host site has been preserved, while their ability to get paid by US customers for private chats and other paid content will still be taken away !
My acquaintance in the US entertainment industry thinks that the revised SOPA / PIPA bills will come up for a vote again before the end of March.
And at the risk of flirting with the politics ban, here's some 'professional commentary' on the latest change-up ... from
(snip)"What it boils down to is that SOPA was an attempt to put the power of information back in the hands of an elite few who are rapidly losing the ability to control what the masses are reading, hearing and seeing. Alternative news and ‘extremist’ information was the target (and still is).
While we applaud President Obama (yes, we agree with him on this move) for formally issuing a veto threat, we remain skeptical of his motivations. This being an election year, the last thing the President needs to be dealing with along with the economic crisis and tensions in the middle east, is the protests of millions of voters who would have undoubtedly taken to the streets when access to their favorite web sites like Youtube, Google, Facebook, and Twitter were shut down because of alleged SOPA violations.
Moreover, we aren’t one bit convinced that this veto was done in the interests of free expression, as the administration may claim. In November, the President issued a similar veto threat about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which allows for the detention of American citizens determined to be threats to national security and public safety on the domestic (U.S.) battlefront. He flip-flopped on the issue just a couple of weeks later, and signed the bill into law over New Year’s weekend to complete silence from the mainstream media.
It is our view that SOPA, in one form or another, will return with a vengeance.(snip)
I'll be blacking out all my websites in protest tomorrow. Even though SOPA's been shelved for now, this should help with PIPA as well. http://sopastrike.com/
Specific question to Melonie: The US has a Free Trade Agreement with Mexico. Let's say SOPA and PIPA do pass and what you say about foreign camgirls being banned do happens. Wouldn't I, for living in Mexico (being a citizen) and being inside the territory covered by the Free Trade agreement, still be able to cam for, let's say, Streamate and reach US customers?
REMINDER: Tomorrow is the Wikipedia blackout! It should start at 12:00am CST.
I don't know what other sites will join, though.
Google at this very moment blacked out their name on main page
Under the latest discussions re SOPA revisions, yes you could still cam for StreaMates. No you would not be able to sell 'paid content' to US customers via StreaMates, because the payment processing between the US customers' US bank based credit cards and StreaMate's credit card merchant account in a Cyprus bank would be blocked. Remember that the financial transaction involves three parties ... the US customer, the non-US based webcam host, and the Mexican camgirl. If the non-US based webcam host is outside the sphere of NAFTA, and if the 'cash flow' involves bank transfers outside of NAFTA, then no NAFTA protections can apply between the US customer and the Mexican camgirl.Quote:
Wouldn't I, for living in Mexico (being a citizen) and being inside the territory covered by the Free Trade agreement, still be able to cam for, let's say, Streamate and reach US customers?
Presumably, if a webcam host were located in Canada or Mexico, making all three parties to the transaction fall under NAFTA, there would be at least some 'protection'. However, with the provision still in effect that all US origin credit card transactions to an 'accused' non-US based ( which includes Canadian or Mexican ) website could be blocked for months or years while said non-US based ( including Canadian or Mexican ) website is forced to 'prove its innocence' ( with associated legal fees and US court calendar delays ) against piracy / copyright violation charges in a US court, it is doubtful that any 'accused' Canadian or Mexican website could economically survive long enough to do so.
As discussed by the bill's sponsors regarding the 'rewrite' of SOPA, all the supporters really care about is cutting off the 'money flow' from US customers to foreign websites - thus eliminating them from economic competition. They know that depriving a foreign based internet business of cash flow from US customers, who arguably comprise some 2/3rds of total cash flow, will devastate their business model / profitability / economic viability. And they also know that it isn't actually necessary to achieve a 'permanent' cash flow interruption ... just a few months worth of cash flow interruption will leave offshore websites in a 'deficit' situation that will potentially bankrupt them ( since their payrolls / web server bills etc. won't shrink while their incoming cash shrinks to 1/3rd of what is was previously ).
Thus my acquaintance in the entertainment business is confident that, for all but the very largest non-US based websites, a mere 'accusation' brought by a private US business in a US court, resulting in a court order forcing the temporary cutoff of US customer credit card transactions to the 'accused' non-US based website while the truth of said 'accusations' can be investigated and litigated, will be sufficient to financially 'kill' the 'accused' non-US based website long before the SOPA court case is finally decided. My entertainment business acquaintance is also confident that lodging an 'accusation' will be super-easy where webcam hosts and other websites that 'funnel' user generated content are concerned. All that will be necessary is to collect a few examples of copyrighted music being played in the background, of posted pics / videos at one non-US based website appearing on other non-US based websites etc. Again the 'accusations' re the playing of copyrighted background music without royalty payments, or the 'resale' of video / images without additional compensation, do not need to be legally proven. They only need to provide 'probable cause' that will result in a court order to suspend US based credit card transfers to the 'accused' non-US based website while further investigation and litigation takes place ( at a snail's pace ! ).
From the moment the US based credit card transations are blocked, the non-US based website starts losing money. It then becomes a practical economic decision on the part of the owners of the 'accused' non-US based website whether they are willing to continue bleeding cash for months, and also willing to spend additional cash on legal fees, in hopes of 'proving their innocence' ... versus 'pulling the plug' immediately, avoiding ongoing future losses, and 'pocketing' whatever website profits still exist before they are 'eaten up' by payroll / server bills etc.
So, pretty much EVERYONE who cams for a site like Streamate will lose their jobs if SOPA passes and if someone does an accusation... So the only option for cam sites, if they wanna stay in business, is to move to America, right? At the end of the day we'd still lose...
^^^ no, non-US based camgirls working through StreaMates or other non-US based webcam hosts won't lose their jobs ... they'll just see the amount of total customer spending ( thus camming income ) drop by 2/3rds if US based webcam customers are no longer able to process credit card transactions for paid content !
It's also questionable whether StreaMates or other non-US based webcam hosts could remain economically viable if they moved their operations to the USA in order to avoid the effects of SOPA. Immediately, this would subject them to US corporate income taxes ( with 'average' tax rates in the 20% ballpark ) that they are currently able to avoid altogether. 'Paying' a US corporate income tax would have to be financed by some means ... most probably by reducing the percentages paid out to camgirls.
Agreed that the two largest de-facto beneficiaries of SOPA will be the IRS and those US private industries which are able to make successful 'accusations' against non-US competitors in US courts. This of course explains why SOPA will 'return with a vengeance'.
Also, in theory, if 2/3rds of all worldwide adult webcam spending winds up being 'segregated' towards US based webcam host sites, the camgirls working for those US based webcam host sites should see an INCREASE in earnings. However, this conclusion assumes that those US based webcam host sites will NOT allow non-US based camgirls to operate through their website after SOPA is passed. This will be a 'self-defense' reaction by US based webcam hosts to preserve their 'immunity' from SOPA ( or put another way, operating with non-US based camgirls could result in an otherwise 100% US based webcam host losing their US based status, thus subjecting themselves to 'accusations' from other 100% US based webcam hosts ).
Losing potential American customers isn't that different from being banned for being a non-US camgirl... At least for me.
^^^ I'm actually in the same situation, since even though I am still a US citizen my webcam IP will show a location 'way south of the border'. Fortunately, I at the point in my career where I don't NEED future camming income.
Well, good for you, I guess. Unfortunately for me, these are pretty bad news. Even if I use a VPN that gives me an american IP address, this is bad.
^^^ the flip side, of course, is that any US based webcam host is going to have to comply with IRS regulations regarding generation of 1099 reports of payments to camgirls. These will in turn require that the US based webcam host obtain Social Security numbers, addresses etc. for all camgirls. I have no idea how that may play out if the camgirl lists a non-US address. However, if the camgirl is a US citizen, the payments are highly likely to be considered to be US income subject to US income tax ( against which the foreign country residency tax exemption would not apply ). That's why, given my personal situation, I'm unwilling to risk mucking up my foreign country resident tax exemption on my investment income for the sake of a few thousand dollars worth of webcam earnings via a US based webcam host when SOPA becomes a reality.
So either way, we all lose...
No, not all camgirls will 'lose' !!!
US camgirls residing in the USA working through US based webcam host sites will actually 'win' ... since the effect of SOPA will be to prevent US webcam customer money being spent on non-US based webcam host sites and earned by non-US based camgirls working through those non-US based webcam host sites ! If US webcam customer spending stays constant, but no longer need be split up between both US based and non-US based camgirls, that means more money for US based camgirls ( and far less money for non-US camgirls ) !!! As discussed in many other posts and links, the intent of SOPA is partly based on establishing 'protectionism' for US based businesses and US based workers ( at the expense of foreign competitor businesses and foreign workers ). So from that arguably 'selfish' standpoint, the enactment of SOPA's internet based credit card processing restrictions will directly benefit both US webcam hosts and US camgirls working through those US webcam hosts.
But, as residents of foreign countries, you and I will lose on this deal because we will be treated as foreign workers even though we are still US citizens. Actually, this fits right in with other recent US gov't actions which 'hurt' US ex-pats such as the new HIRE act based IRS rules applying to foreign bank accounts held in the name of US citizens etc. ( which also impacts the ability of non-US based websites to transfer money from 'foreign' bank accounts back into the USA ).
Yes we have a lot of threads on this, but today I am excited to see that sites are going black today to send a message! They include GOOGLE, WIKIPEDIA, AND CRAIGSLIST, and they are doing it for 24 hours. Go click on the sites to see how it looks! I am loving this is finally getting media attention. If you haven't signed a bill yet protesting against SOPA and PIPA please do so today. You can go right to the sites doing the blackout and it tells you how to do just that!
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ente...-blackout.html
My site is blacked out today. I'm happy to take part in this protest!
More money for US camgirls... with the possibility of having them kicked out and banned for a possible copyright infringment that might not even be true.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=uvXo4sGB7zM#!
They will be going over the bill January 24th it just said on the news. Please keep a watch on this come January 24th to see how it will go down.
Not exactly. 100% US based websites are exempt from SOPA provisions as currently written, and this is expected to remain unchanged in the future re-write. That's not to say that US camgirls can't be 'taken down' for accusations of copyright infringement, but that could happen right now under different US laws that are already in force.Quote:
More money for US camgirls... with the possibility of having them kicked out and banned for a possible copyright infringment that might not even be true
(snip)"Corporations don’t have to wait for the SOPA bill to pass to start censoring the Internet, it turns out. Under a ruling just handed down by a federal judge in Nevada, hundreds of websites accused by Chanel of selling counterfeit goods are having their domains confiscated and their names removed from search engine results, with scanty evidence of the accusation’s validity.
The SOPA, or Stop Online Piracy Act, which you can read more about here, is backed by Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and others and is intended to stem piracy. However, numerous tech companies and civil liberties groups have pointed out that it’s a sledgehammer approach to a delicate problem, since it allows corporations to have the government remove sites from search engines and take other actions that create an Internet blacklist, similar to the Great Firewall of China.
These actions, in fact, would be very similar to what just happened in Nevada. Chanel had filed suits against more than 900 domain names they believed to be selling fake Chanel products. But the proof they provided to the court that these sites were guilty leaves a lot to be desired, Nate Anderson at Ars Technica reports:
For the most recent batch of names, Chanel hired a Nevada investigator to order from three of the 228 sites in question. When the orders arrived, they were reviewed by a Chanel official and declared counterfeit. The other 225 sites were seized based on a Chanel anti-counterfeiting specialist browsing the Web.
On the rather dubious strength of that evidence, the domain names were confiscated, so the sites are no longer accessible, and their names are to be removed from search engine results. The case, coming on the heels of SOPA’s presentation before the House of Representatives, suggests that corporations may not even need legislative approval to cripple sites they want taken down—just approval from a court."(snip)
from
... arguably, all that SOPA will really do in addition to what already exists under US law is to provide an 'extension' of de-facto US jurisdiction to non-US based websites, via the mechanism of a US court order stopping the processing of online credit card payments from US customers.
I think this date is for the re-write that will remove the domain blocking provisions but keep the credit card blocking provisions intact. I don't think that an actual congressional vote will be scheduled for this date.Quote:
They will be going over the bill January 24th it just said on the news. Please keep a watch on this come January 24th to see how it will go down.