Japan May Make YouTube Illegal

[ebalosus]

A change in Japanese copyright laws revives bad memories of SOPA and PIPA.


When SOPA and PIPA came into being it was with a fanfare, and they went out in much the same way. They do things differently in Japan, and when the last Aum cult member - a man accused of conspiring to release Sarin nerve gas on the Tokyo subway - was arrested, among the news buried on the back pages that same day was a little-remarked item that said a revision to copyright law had been passed by the House of Representatives. The revision went through without discussion, opposition or much media coverage, and the end result is that, when the law comes into force in October, it will be illegal for Japanese citizens to watch protected material via YouTube - even if they happen to be doing it in Los Angeles.

Attorney at law Toshimitsu Dan points out that the revisions effectively make three acts illegal: ripping and copying of copy-protected and encoded materials (which are no longer covered by a personal use exemption); the sale of software and hardware that circumvents copy protection; and the intentional download of illegally uploaded materials. Or, as the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun puts it, "even one click is now a crime." Punishment includes a fine of up to about US$25,000 and/or a prison sentence of not more than two years. But the really fun part is that, thanks to some remarkably lax wording in the revision, the penalties can apply to Japanese citizens even if they don't happen to be in Japan at the time. Someone idling away on YouTube while waiting for their plane at LAX, is just as liable as someone ripping DVDs in Yokohama.

There has been no opposition to the revisions to date, and precious little public discussion. The only people who know much about it are the otaku, a subculture that is not well respected by many Japanese. This means that, come October, the revisions will become law. Arrests will no doubt follow soon afterward, and whether the accused is a pirate movie mogul or just some schlub watching smile videos on Nico Nico Douga is ultimately a matter of chance.

Source: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118016-Japan-May-Make-YouTube-Illegal

The future, if we are not vigilant...

[Gumba Masta]

These kinds of news paint a picture that strongly suggest that japanese lawmakers are otakus themselfs. Specificaly those that are obsessed with a dystopian cyberpunk version of Japan that so many Sci-Fi animes portray.

[Travis Retriever]

The future, if we are not vigilant...

The future regardless of what we do.  Last I checked, lawmakers don't give a flying fuck what their livestock (us) think of them.  They still passed the bailouts despite widespread opposition to them...

[Lord T Hawkeye]

The only good thing about internet regulation is that it doesn't work.  They're always laughably easy to work around.  Firefox had workarounds for SOPA all ready before the law would have even passed.

[Gumba Masta]

Unless you cut off the internet completely.

[Lord T Hawkeye]

Unless you cut off the internet completely.

Cut the Japanese off from their electronics?  That's like breaking an Irish man's drink.  You DO NOT do that if you enjoy living.

Politician in Britain learned that lesson the hard way.  Got booze taxes raised, the pubs all started a facebook group to ban him from every pub in Britain.

[Ibrahim90]

Cut the Japanese off from their electronics?  That's like breaking an Irish man's drink.  You DO NOT do that if you enjoy living.

for some reason, I suspect their reaction would not be as "pleasant" as the Irish/British reaction to pub-changes.

[Gumba Masta]

Yeah well, just because a decision is stupid doesn't mean pliticians wont do it.

[MrBogosity]

Yeah well, just because a decision is stupid doesn't mean pliticians wont do it.

In fact, it seems to increase the likelihood!