Remember back a few days ago, I mention the “Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act†passing the Senate judiciary committee? Well, apparently the Department of Homeland Security and their Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit doesn’t need any other stinking law. As Torrent Freak reports
Following on the heels of this week’s domain seizure of a large hiphop file-sharing links forum, it’s clear today that the U.S. Government has been very busy. Without any need for COICA, ICE has just seized the domain of a BitTorrent meta-search engine along with those belonging to other music linking sites and several others which appear to be connected to physical counterfeit goods.
Torrent Freak has a screenshot of the takedown message, which is also available if you go to torrent-finder.com. In fact, they did this to over 75 websites dealing with copyrighted material. Raw Story (yes, I’m actually linking that site) adds
Homeland Security’s ability to shut down sites without a court order evidently comes from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a Clinton-era law that allows Web sites to be closed on the basis of a copyright complaint. Critics have long assailed the DMCA for being too broad, as complainants don’t need to prove copyright infringement before a site can be taken down.
If you read the two stories, it seems strange for Torrent Finder to be shut down. The others make sense. But, it seems rather strange for this to be done under the DHS and their subsidiary ICE. I guess customs enforcement sort of comes under their banner, but, really, homeland security? Their plan is
- Prevent terrorism and enhance security
- Protect the borders against illicit trade, travel and finance
- Protect the borders through smart and tough interior immigration enforcement
- Construct an efficient, effective agency
One would think this would come strictly under the auspices of the Department of Justice. Might it be a tad worrisome that the DHS is getting involved, or, much ado over nothing?
PS thought: if they can do this, why in the hell can’t they shut down Wikileaks?
