Re: [Bitcoin-development] bitcoin.org SOPA/PIPA blackout

[Gregory Maxwell <gmaxwell@gmail.com>]

On Mon, Jan 16, 2012 at 9:37 PM, Kyle Henderson <k@old.school.nz> wrote:
> For those that believe one particularly noisy country in the North America
> region with a policy called SOPA or PIPA directly affects Bitcoin - can you
> point out precisely where it does so?

In addition to the concerns about internet freedom and domain name
system filtering which are against the interests of bitcoin users and
the bitcoin system generally, SOPA contains new requirements for
payment networks which may adversely impact Bitcoin services
businesses and limit their ability to do business in the US and other
places where similar legislation is adopted.  There are many millions
of potential Bitcoin users in the US, so US law matters for our
ecosystem even though far from all Bitcoin users are in the US
themselves.

(21) PAYMENT NETWORK PROVIDER-
            (A) IN GENERAL- The term `payment network provider' means
an entity that directly or indirectly provides the proprietary
services, infrastructure, and software to effect or facilitate a
debit, credit, or other payment transaction.
[...]
                (i) PREVENTING AFFILIATION- A payment network provider
shall take technically feasible and reasonable measures, as
expeditiously as possible, but in any case within 5 days after being
served with a copy of the order, or within such time as the court may
order, designed to prevent, prohibit, or suspend its service from
completing payment transactions involving customers located within the
United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and
the payment account--
                    (I) which is used by the foreign infringing site,
or portion thereof, that is subject to the order; and
                    (II) through which the payment network provider
would complete such payment transactions.

If you really want to go for the more extreme interpretation, it's not
hard to conclude that the Bitcoin system itself is a "payment network"
by the definition under the act, and if so in theory the AG's office
could— without due process— order miners and mining pools located in
the US to, for example, not process transactions containing the well
known addresses of targeted infringing sites (e.g. The Wikileaks
donation address).  Though I personally think this is far out.

I also think that other people will covered the SOPA/PIPA awareness
(e.g. Wikipedia is shutting down for 24 hours) more than we could
possibly do with our own resources.

But this attitude of it being someone elses problem? I think thats
nonsense. We live in _one world_, one world which is getting smaller
every day.  The value of a network—or of a economy— comes from the
number of potential connections it can make. One reason Bitcoin is
good is because it deconstructs some of the old barriers and anything
that risks imposing new ones is a threat to us all.

So, don't participate because bitcoin.org's help would be so small as
to be pointless— sure.  But because it doesn't matter? hardly.