April 02, 2007
New pirates of the Caribbean
The Caribbean nation of Antigua is currently in the midst of a WTO dispute with the US government over online gambling. Congress recently passed a law criminalizing online gambling even when done in other countries, and the WTO ruled that the US has no such jurisdiction and that the act violates WTO standards. Rightly so.
Predictably, the US government ignored the decision. The WTO issued another statement criticizing the US for continuing to violate WTO standards. If the US government ignores this as well, as it is likely to, we could see the return of piracy to the Caribbean for the first time in a few centuries. If the US refuses to abide by WTO standards, Antigua is under no obligation to abide by them either, and as Antigua is already a member of the WTO, the US has little actual recourse should Antigua decide to play home to someone like The Pirate Bay, which is always looking for potential data havens. All of a sudden these files would be completely legal, as they originate outside US jurisdiction and would not be subject to any copyright laws. Just route your connection through Antigua and the RIAA wouldn't be able to touch you.
I really hope this happens. I really do. It's gotten to the point that I've stopped buying music on principle. I just want to hurt the bastards.
