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Websites Go Dark to Protest Anti-Piracy Bills

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  • Description

    Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian on how to combat piracy on the web.

  • Duration 4:35
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Very much you.

While the Internet is on strike today may have noticed several tech companies are participating in a black out.

To protest to antipiracy bills that are facing congress social -- website and read it is one of the companies that is dark today.

Alexis -- Haney and is the co-founder of credit.

And he joins us now you know why -- -- is what a lot of back in a media companies would shift their fist hit you but.

You have been against this so a role this -- stand against online piracy.

I account I have to ask you.

If you've created something like a movie and spent your life's money and blood an effort and then suddenly right up on your site this thing is for free -- wouldn't you feel terrible about it would you be angry about it.

-- and to be clear read it does not actually host any of these part of files this is part of the problem unfortunately.

A lot of Hollywood money 94 million dollars in Hollywood lobbying.

Went into congress last year in what came out was a bill that was written by lobbyists not technologies and so what that something new isn't it yeah I think that that's that all the time -- -- and -- precisely and that's that's the problem we've got so many big problems America right now that congress cannot agree on we can't figure good ways to solve unemployment.

-- the deficit.

But yet -- -- -- five million dollars in you've got co sponsors from the left and the right.

And it's incredibly frustrating what should legislation look like not well.

Their current laws in place like the DM CA which are used to police pirates and -- we need to fight -- that we need to do it intelligently.

Because getting too big of a club to the government is just bad through spares.

Come the better idea is gonna be a solution that probably comes out of the private sector we look at things like Netflix we've seen innovation.

Show that you can make a lot of money providing an alternative to people are willing to pay for two piracy.

It's what we need is legislation that doesn't meddle with technology we don't need.

Bigger government messing with tech -- had a.

Normally I would agree with -- however there are a lot of areas of due process -- have been working -- this law for small requires Justice Department approved in court.

That a foreign site is dedicated to the wholesale violation -- -- -- the the onus is on the government to prove its case and there's a whole series of steps of due process before anybody's prosecuted -- Yes with regard to the foreign sites absolutely.

The the problem is there are domestic sites whether it's PayPal Visa search engines these can be startups coming out of New York City right now and some cafe.

That now have to have all kinds of legal protection they have to do all kinds of due diligence in the in -- user generated content world online.

People create things all the time far more than a couple of kids in and in it cafe can keep up -- and yet.

-- -- couple of kids this is the magic of the tech industry is that you can give a couple of college students this is shown time and time again with like -- -- less money than it takes to buy a Ford Focus.

And a few years later they have a billion dollar company look at examples like Dropbox only -- -- comes out of the sector gets to start.

Because it only takes -- ideas and determination on a laptop and I don't want -- to go away you were originally scheduled to appear before congress -- -- canceled if you were appearing before congress what would you say aside from what you've already said which is what the private industry figure this out we know represented device had invited a bunch of -- -- down and it was it was troubling to watch House Judiciary Committee.

Talk about something that a number of members admitted they didn't under all that's the way it always exist -- don't put the onus is on -- Yes and so.

What -- -- what I see is an opportunity for us is we can write legislation with technologists at the table from the very beginning that we can targets specifically.

The pirates and not get caught up of the.

Just look at the legislators are why don't you and Hollywood get together Hollywood knows its own concerns about protecting intellectual property better and anybody else isn't there a way that they can work with you that you can work with -- Hollywood and come up with -- right formula and then presented to congress because those guys don't know when they're.

-- I like the -- you think and I totally agree in fact if you look at the amount of revenue Hollywood made last year.

About two thirds of it came from channels they want said -- threat to their industry.

Technology isn't -- problem we can all agree technology helps everyone -- long run because it lets them deliver their great content more efficiently.

The problem -- the pirates side -- that are crying all -- -- regulators yet well regulators are always two steps behind the technology that's that's why we were protesting our senators here in New York today you know offering it's a cosponsor -- -- -- Which is still very much an issue -- -- pretty much -- table that's why I'm not DC today.

But -- the senate bill is still alive and well and so it's it's on the ropes -- after today we had a number of co sponsors just throughout the day.

Because of our protests fall off so.

I think we're winning this one Alexis so hand thank you very much thank you can appreciate it thank you get everybody together working on -- there's a solution I'm sure there is one -- -- --

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