Below is an email I received from Representative Rick Larsen‘s office. I don’t recall ever having identifying myself as PVT Adams-Collier in any communications with his office, though I could have done so at some point. Maybe. I also don’t recall contacting his office directly concerning SOPA. I blogged a few things and mentioned him on facebook a couple of times, though. It is good to know that I don’t always have to go directly to my representative to have my voice heard.
For those playing along at home, I think the best course of action would be for producers to perform searches for their work on peer-to-peer file sharing search engines such as http://thepiratebay.org/ and http://scrapetorrent.com/. If producers find that their work is being distributed in a way which is contrary to their wishes, I advise the producer or their agent to contact the individuals operating seeds with high share ratio in order to ensure that they perform AAA before accepting new peers into the swarm. Those seed operators who refuse to negotiate reasonable AAA terms should be issued C&D orders, and legal action should be taken, should they fail to comply with the request.
[edit 2012-01-24T05:27:44]
It would probably be wise to impose a minimum fee of $5 for seed operators per content package they distribute. This will encourage them to pass this fee on to their subscribers in a legal and responsible manner. I recommend that it be distributed in the same fair and concise way in which the tickets are distributed for toll violations on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Ask me how I know.
This will provide content producers a valuable distribution channel which is closely in touch with the consumers of the producers’ media. I believe that if the producer puts forth effort in good faith to develop and maintain relationships with key distribution points, we will see a situation where both content producers and consumers get what they want.
The authorization phase of the AAA system could charge a Payment Card Industry or bitcoin account a reasonable fee. My employer produces content delivery appliances which would serve quite well the role of AAA gateway.
For an example of this use case in action (sans account billing), I recommend contacting seeding participants of the Debian CD/DVD swarms. I will proxy such requests if there is interest.
An alternative might be a tool developed for the online gaming community with a strange name:
Dear Pvt. Adams-Collier:
Thank you for contacting me about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). I wanted to update you on my views on this important issue.
I am opposed to SOPA and PIPA in their current forms. I believe that these bills create unacceptable threats to free speech and free access to the internet. I have heard from many of you in Northwest Washington who are deeply concerned about the potential impacts of SOPA and PIPA.
Online piracy is a serious problem that costs U.S. businesses billions of dollars. Government agencies must be empowered to stop and prosecute intellectual property thieves. But in doing so we cannot undermine freedom of speech or jeopardize the free flow of information on the internet. I will work with my colleagues to see that any final anti-online piracy legislation protects the internet and does not encroach on free speech rights.
Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind should I have the opportunity to vote on any legislation that would impact online piracy and internet freedom on the House floor.
Again, thank you for contacting me. I encourage you to contact me in the future about this or any other issue of importance to you.
Sincerely,
Rick Larsen
United States Representative
Washington State, 2nd District
[edit 2012-01-24T05:28:09]
Sincerely,
C.J. Adams-Collier
San Juan County Democratic Central Committee (*whew*) PCO
San Juan County, Washington State, Orcas 3 District