Technology Trumps ICE Domain Seizures: Browser Pl

ok this is older news but still great ........

Technology Trumps ICE Domain Seizures: Browser Plugin Fix Created In Just Days

from the you-can't-stop-technology dept

As Homeland Security continues to defend the actions of ICE seizing domains names without real due process or concern for prior restraint, it's not surprising that technologists are quickly designing systems to route around such hamfisted attempts to censor websites without a trial or conviction. Apparently, a group of technologists who were fed up with such overbearing government maneuvers have created a rather straightforward Firefox add-on (Chrome support coming soon) called MAFIAAfire. What it does is pretty straightforward. If a site seized by ICE sets itself up on an alternative domain (as most of the copyright-related sites have -- contrary to claims by ICE and the MPAA), this addon will automatically redirect visitors. It even goes so far as to allow sites to pre-register alternative domains, in case ICE decides to seize their domain.

The developers have more info on their website -- including a timeline. The key point, in my mind, is the timeline:

Yeah, you read that right. The guy had the idea on a Sunday and had no idea how to make a Firefox plugin, but by Thursday he had a working version. This is what ICE and supporters of such domain seizures are up against. When someone who doesn't even know how to program this kind of thing can build a tool that lets everyone route around your censorship in a few days... you're fighting a losing battle. Just imagine what happens when people who actually do have the skills jump in.

Feds Demand Firefox Remove Add-On That Redirects Seized Domains


The Department of Homeland Security has requested that Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox browser, remove an add-on that allows web surfers to access websites whose domain names were seized by the government for copyright infringement, Mozilla’s lawyer said Thursday.

But Mozilla did not remove the MafiaaFire add-on, and instead has demanded the government explain why it should. Two weeks have passed, and the government has not responded to Mozilla’s questions, including whether the government considers the add-on unlawful and whether Mozilla is “legally obligated” to remove it. The DHS has also not provided the organization with a court order requiring its removal, the lawyer said.

“One of the fundamental issues here is under what conditions do intermediaries accede to government requests that have a censorship effect and which may threaten the open internet,” Harvey Anderson, Mozilla’s lawyer, wrote Thursday on his blog.

Neither Homeland Security nor Anderson immediately responded for comment.