Homeland Security shuts down dozens of Web sites without court order

[astrid]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/h...-dozens-sites/

The Homeland Security Department's customs enforcement division has gone on a Web site shutdown spree, closing down at least 76 domains this week, according to online reports.

While many of the web domains were sites that trafficked in counterfeit brand name goods, and some others linked to copyright-infringing file-sharing materials, at least one site was a Google-like search engine, causing alarm among web freedom advocates who worry the move steps over the line into censorship.

[Teakai]

Strange. One would think if they could do that they'd shut down Wikileaks seeing as they're so worried about it.

[astrid]

True , but once again its something that keeps us all distracted from other things that might be WAY more larger than Wikileaks...

[Teakai]

Hi Astrid - I did some Nancy Drew sleuthing. The site they gave as an example of one they shut down was rapgodfathers. I tried it, but I got a "siezed by homeland security' notice.

But then I found rapgodfathers with all this download stuff that was fully functioning.

Is that weird? Why would they say they closed down a site that they haven't closed down at all?



Yeesh - I'm probably being tracked by homeland security now.

[Teakai]

Posted by astrid (here)
True , but once again its something that keeps us all distracted from other things that might be WAY more larger than Wikileaks...

Do you think all the fuss with the prime ministers around the world re: Wikileaks and their promised big bombshell drop is a set-up, then?

Because, it seems to me that if they really were worried and they really could close down sites that easily - they would be right down on shutting down wikileaks - and let people stay distracted by downloading music, or some other way.

Seems stupidly risky to keep it up if they genuinely are worried about the info.

[astrid]

http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-governme...d-more-101126/

Here lists some of the sites they have removed, looks like this is related to the other article i posted a few days ago, on to peer to peer sites.

Bottom line is they don't like us sharing info, and comparing notes, the removing counterfeit clothing/products sites is just the fake reason for it, as if homeland security would seriously be concerned about that....

[Teakai]

Posted by astrid (here)
http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-governme...d-more-101126/

Here lists some of the sites they have removed, looks like this is related to the other article i posted a few days ago, on to peer to peer sites.

Bottom line is they don't like us sharing info, and comparing notes, the removing counterfeit clothing/products sites is just the fake reason for it, as if homeland security would seriously be concerned about that....

That's my point, Astrid - Wikileaks shares/shared lots of governmentally sensitive information.
The mainstream media were going on about what a worry it was.

Are you saying they're OK about us sharing that information?

Or are you saying it's set-up information to keep us distracted and misled?

[astrid]

I think its like the frog in the pot theory... They are removing sites a few at a time, so its not that obvious, to the general public, anyways.

Im not sure its set up information , but im sure that TPTB use (allow /encourage??) things to happen if they will somehow benefit them.

In this case, building up the release in the press , will mean more eyes are turned away from other things, that are being played out behind the curtain.

[Teakai]

Posted by astrid (here)
I think its like the frog in the pot theory... They are removing sites a few at a time, so its not that obvious, to the general public, anyways.

Im not sure its set up information , but im sure that TPTB use (allow /encourage??) things to happen if they will somehow benefit them.

In this case, building up the release in the press , will mean more eyes are turned away from other things, that are being played out behind the curtain.

These were the headlines on the UK daily mail today:
Panic over leaked British secrets: U.S. puts No.10 on alert over insults to allies as 3m documents are set to go online The bombshells from WikiLeaks, founded by Julian Assange (pictured),
Article follows.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html

Yet homeland security is busy seizing pirating sites.

It doesn't add up.

We can't see what's going on behind the curtain anyway. We rely on alternative media to tell us that. And what more revealing site than Wikileaks? - until now.

[Malcolm Linus]

In my opinion, wikileaks is too much in the public eye to be just shut down like this. Not many people will scream about rapgodfathers, or whatever it was, being closed down. It's closing down the big sites that give many people entertaining information (like secret documents, conspiracies, entertainment) that will make the people scream and invent/discover conspiracy theories.

In my opinion.

[norman]

Me thinks there are a lot of front room elephant beds going off the shelves down at conspiracymart today. LOL

[onawah]

http://www.naturalnews.com/030542_ce..._internet.html

(NaturalNews) As part of a new expansion of government power over information, the Department of Homeland Security has begun seizing and shutting down internet websites (web domains) without due process or a proper trial. DHS simply seizes web domains that it wants to and posts an ominous "Department of Justice" logo on the web site. See an example at http://torrent-finder.com

Over 75 websites were seized and shut down last week, and there is no indication that the government will stop such efforts. Right now, their focus is websites that they claim "violate copyrights," yet the torrent-finder.com website that was seized by DHS contained no copyrighted content whatsoever. It was merely a search engine website that linked to destinations where people could access copyrighted content. Google also links to copyrighted content -- does that mean the feds will soon seize Google, too?

These seizures were conducted on the basis of language in the DMCA law, which is vastly overreaching in its powers (it was passed to appease the music recording industry and the RIAA). Even so, the U.S. Senate is right now considering passing yet another law -- COICA -- the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/...), a new law that would give the federal government even more power to shut down websites it opposed.

Read more about COICA here: http://www.usa-anti-communist.com/w...

And here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris...

Here's the list of 19 US Senators who voted to censor the internet via the COICA bill: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...

Government could shut down alternative health websites
Where is all this going? Today the U.S. government is targeting websites focused on copyright violations, but if the public tolerates this government-sponsored censorship of the web, it's only a matter of time before these government powers are expanded to control the content of the internet.

Over the last few years, several U.S. Senators have already attempted to outlaw vitamins and nutritional supplements. One lawmaker even suggested that "alternative health" information should be outlawed on the internet in order to "protect" people from information that isn't aligned with the drugs-and-surgery approach to sick care. It's only a matter of time, it seems, before the U.S. government uses its new power of seizing internet websites as an information warfare weapon to silence anyone who opposes FDA and the Big Pharma agenda.

In fact, under these new laws, there's no limit to what websites the U.S. government could choose to seize and shut down. This is the beginning of the federal takeover of the internet, where all websites that don't fall in line with "official" government-approved information are now potential targets of DHS seizures.

One music website seized by DHS -- RapGodFather.com -- was seized merely because its users posted comments linking to file-sharing websites (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/...). The site had 150,000 members, but as of today, it is the property of "Homeland Security Investigations." (http://rapgodfathers.com/)

See the TorrentFreak.com news report on this important story here: http://torrentfreak.com/music-linki...

All websites using the word "Face" could soon be seized
The reach of tyrants knows no limits. As widely reported throughout the popular press last week, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has assigned Facebook a trademark monopoly over the word "Face." (http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/23/pa...) This means that any website using the word "face" could theoretically be seized by the DHS under the DMCA.

Lest you think this is some impossible exaggeration of the law, keep in mind that governments always misuse laws to go far beyond their original intended purpose. The RICO Act, for example, which was originally passed in 1970 to combat the mafia, is now used nearly every day against individuals and small businesses (http://www.ricoact.com).

Similarly, the Patriot Act signed into law by President Bush after the 9/11 attacks was originally intended to be applied to international terrorists. But now in the United States, it is routinely used against animal rights activists and environmental protection groups (http://www.aclu.org/national-securi...).

These rogue abuses of federal law create a pattern of expanding government powers that increasingly threaten the Constitutional rights of American citizens. To seize a person's website without due process is both a violation of that person's First Amendment rights (Free Speech) as well as their Fifth Amendment rights.

The Fifth Amendment states:

No person shall be... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

And yet this seizure of websites by the DHS is doing precisely that -- depriving people of property without due process of law.

The U.S. federal government, as we have increasingly seen through the actions of the TSA, DEA and DHS, does not recognize nor honor the Bill of Rights. Nor does it believe the U.S. Constitution has any authority whatsoever. The upshot of this is that all Americans citizens are now living under a system of government tyranny, where government agents may molest you at the airports or seize your website if they don't like what you're saying online.

Take action: Sign the petition
Help stop the government takeover of the internet. Sign this petition:
http://demandprogress.org/blacklist/

In order to protect your access to NaturalNews.com and stay in contact with us in case the DHS ever attempts to seize our web domain, be sure to join our email list by entering your email address at http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRe...

That way, we will be able to reach you by email with any important updates or announcements.

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About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams launched NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the CEO of a highly successful email newsletter software company that develops software used to send permission email campaigns to subscribers. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org

[norman]

CAN they shut down websites that are hosted outside the US? I wonder.

[Arpheus]

Posted by norman (here)
CAN they shut down websites that are hosted outside the US? I wonder.

I doubt it tho,the internet is full of loopholes flaws,wich in this particular case is a good thing,whats going to end happening is a lot of stuff is going to end up being hosted overseas on some other countries,the internet is big its going to be tough to control and regulate everything the way they want tho.

[Lost Soul]

Homeland Security - shutting down what the First Amendment can't.

[Celine]

Wouldnt it really **** them up if "we" (1 billion netcitizens) shut the sites down ourselves?


If we could just find other ways to communicate truth..

[Carmody]

Posted by Arpheus (here)
I doubt it tho,the internet is full of loopholes flaws,wich in this particular case is a good thing,whats going to end happening is a lot of stuff is going to end up being hosted overseas on some other countries,the internet is big its going to be tough to control and regulate everything the way they want tho.

Data is easy to disguise.

[Malcolm Linus]

Posted by norman (here)
CAN they shut down websites that are hosted outside the US? I wonder.

It's not actually the servers that have been seized, but the domains. The domains are basically redirected to the homeland security server with the message:



Top-level domains under US jurisdiction are liable to this treatment. This includes .com, and possibly .net.

Posted by TechCrunch
Market Ticker’s Karl Denninger points out the websites themselves and the servers they run on have not actually been seized, just the domains.

“That’s a lot of staff attorney time and trouble to get a big fat nothing out of it, which is exactly what they get going down this road. Why? Because all they can do is redirect the domain pointers which will do exactly nothing when the sites re-register under a top-level domain not under the US Government’s jurisdiction – and there are lots of them.”

Domains under US jurisdiction currently include anything controlled by Verisign which puts .com site owners in a legal relationship with the United States. According to Denninger, all afflicted site owners need to do is move to a non-US controlled top level domain in order to dodge further ICE seizures.

Voila. "Problem" solved.
Lesson learned: Avoid the top-level domains .com, and possibly .net.

Posted by TechCrunch
If it really is that easy to pick up and move on its hard to believe that the other 70 or so sites won’t find friendlier domains on which to land, rendering ICE’s efforts ultimately futile. If anything, the seizures serve as lesson to all possibly infringing sites — Steer clear of the .com top level domain.

Quote sources: Sites With Government Seized Domains Are Moving On, On Twitter - TechCrunch.

[norman]

ok. I follow that so far, but, I think I remember some talk of hush hush talks going on between the new Obama admin' and several foreign countries about working together on web restrictions, right back at the start of Obama's term in office.

I'm expecting that there are more flanks to this assault waiting to come out from the trees.

[observer]

Posted by astrid (here)
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/h...-dozens-sites/

The Homeland Security Department's customs enforcement division has gone on a Web site shutdown spree, closing down at least 76 domains this week, according to online reports.

While many of the web domains were sites that trafficked in counterfeit brand name goods, and some others linked to copyright-infringing file-sharing materials, at least one site was a Google-like search engine, causing alarm among web freedom advocates who worry the move steps over the line into censorship.

Google Video will no longer play-back anything you may have saved on that site after April 29, 2011. It looks like Google Video is shutting-down.

This is a quote from their site, here: http://video.google.com/support/bin/...=1233300&hl=en
"Uploaded video content no longer available -
On April 29, 2011 videos that have been uploaded to Google Video will no longer be available for playback. We've added a Download button to the Video Status page, so you can download videos that you want to save. If you don’t want to download your videos, you don’t need to do anything. (The Download feature will be disabled after May 13, 2011.)"

Could this be the latest step in this drawn-out agenda, astrid?

This is devastating news to me. I have hundreds of google videos saved in a library. I still haven't figured-out how to make them into DVDs.