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Comment by wccrawford | Hacker News Reader

Could you imagine if corporations were required to blacklist all companies that had done anything illegal? Everything would crumble. This is such a ridiculous idea.

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Good question, I never thought about it this way. Why does IP get such special protections? Why not blacklist companies that cheat on their taxes, or violate EPA regs?

> Why does IP get such special protections?

A lot of expensive lobbyists.

As soon as the door is opened to allow this for IP, everthing else will follow like a tidal wave.

Because copying and duplication of IP are trivially easy over the digital infrastructure. The shutdown measures are primarily injunctive rather than penal. Firms in other industries often have sanctions imposed on them as well, but they're not as obvious to those outside that industry.

Especially because the government dictates what is considered illegal. Should I welcome us to china?

What? Now, I don't support internet censorship, but unless you support anarchy, who do you expect to decide on laws? That's a fairly large part of what governments are meant to do.

I think his point was that since the government creates laws, and companies could deal with other companies that broke those laws, the government could destroy any corporation it wanted, at any time.

Not that it can't do so now, but it's a lot harder to blind the public about it, and it would take quite a bit longer. With this law, it would be an overnight thing.

This law is terrible, yes, but the issue is with this law, not with the fact that the government "dictates what is considered illegal".

I understand the government always dictates what is considered legal/illegal, maybe I used the wrong wording. But My issue is that if they have the power to regulate the internet and what the internet displays, they have the ability to censor what every they like. If kept unmonitored this could threaten freedom of speech and press.

In that case apologies for misunderstanding, I read your comment as one of those generic pointless fuck the man comments that are normally written by 14 year olds. "Government making laws? WE'RE IN CHINA!" Understood now :)

The issue is that the executive branch is being granted broad judicial powers, much like with the Patriot act.

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