The fourth amendment says “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized” and yet in the past two years alone, the Department of Justice has seized more than 750 domains (according to a report by Wired).
Did they have probably cause? Maybe, but we wouldn’t know because the majority of these trials are secret government web freedom death panels. It’s wrong that they think they can just take anything with no evidence other than the say-so of some record company executive. Honestly, the websites they are seizing are people’s livelihood and careers. The Orwellian era is among us in which the people have no rights to their property. Government can end the careers of those not liked by “the big corporation”. Maybe I’m being a little paranoid today, but since when is scaring away ingenuity an American value? We need to treat a domain like any other valuable object and require a serious and transparent process to seize it based on probable cause.
Crap like this is why I support revolutionary organizations such as the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation),and Demand Progress. We need to “Demand Progress” to protect the liberties that have spawned things like Google, Facebook, and Reddit. We need to protect these rights and I’m doing my best to do my part through contacting politicians, signing petitions, and other acts of support for these organizations. I blacked the site out for the SOPA Blackout day, and I will continue to stand up for the rights of the internet user and creator. What are you doing to protect your digital rights? Get active.