File Sharing... In... Spaaaaaaace

Various folks are sending over stories reporting on rather preliminary conversations on the Pirate Parties International (PPI) mailing list, concerning ideas for a file sharing platform... in space. More or less, the idea was that there needs to be an effort to get out from various regional jurisdictions, and so the sci-fi idea of launching a server in a satellite was suggested. Others apparently thought a balloon would be a good idea. And, eventually, some suggested that maybe just putting it on a boat in international waters.

None of these plans sound likely (or even that reasonable). And all of them seem to more or less ignore the fact that each of these would still require downstream connections, which would be subject to specific laws. Add to that ideas like the proposed COICA bill in the US, which would let the country order ISPs to block websites, and you can see why these ideas, while creative, probably aren't going to get very far (and don't get us started on the technical hurdles to what they're discussing).

All that said, it is worth noting that this is just a peek into the ongoing game of whac-a-mole that the entertainment industry is dealing with. While these ideas are silly and unworkable, don't count out the fact that there are a lot of very smart people working on ways to make sure file sharing remains viable and available. Like it or not, it's here, and it's not going to go away. At some point, it's going to make sense for the industry to stop fighting, and start looking for ways to actually use it to their own advantage.

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Source: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101021/02523811521/file-sharing-in-spaaaaaaace.shtml

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