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Foreign entities don't have Facebook pages?


Foreign entities refers to the website operators. SOPA creates new rights of action against site operators and their domains, not individual URLs.


Observe that the definition of "foreign Internet site" does not state that the site is located outside the USA, owned by a non US Citizen, or any other commonly understood meaning of the word "foreign". All "domestic" sites also meet the definition of a "foreign Internet site" "for the purpose of this section":

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c112:1:./temp/~c112dI2...:

(a) Definition- For purposes of this section, a foreign Internet site or portion thereof is a `foreign infringing site' if--

(1) the Internet site or portion thereof is a U.S.-directed site and is used by users in the United States;

(2) the owner or operator of such Internet site is committing or facilitating the commission of criminal violations punishable under section 2318, 2319, 2319A, 2319B, or 2320, or chapter 90, of title 18, United States Code; and

(3) the Internet site would, by reason of acts described in paragraph (1), be subject to seizure in the United States in an action brought by the Attorney General if such site were a domestic Internet site.


Seeing that kind of doublespeak codified into law is downright frightening. I watched that SOPA markup hearing a while back and all the reps were talking about foreign this and foreign that and how these targets of prosecution were in other countries so most wouldn't even show up in court... yet the definition of foreign is a US-directed site?


I have been peddling this quote all over, when the major news outlets claim it only effects foreign sites.

`foreign infringing site' = "if such site were a domestic Internet site"

The only reasonable response to that is WTF.




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