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  • White House Evacuated Following Bizarre Incident

    Which politician would you logically expect to be the most secure individual on the planet?

    Many of us would quickly answer President Barack Obama.

    Following a bizarre incident where an individual somehow got too close for comfort, some tough questions must now be asked.

    According to reports Obama and his daughters left the White House in a helicopter bound for Camp David. Minutes later, a man scaled the White House fence and ran across the lawn.

    The unarmed individual made it through the North Portico Doors of the White House before he was apprehended.

    The man was soon identified as Omar Gonzalez of Copperas Cove, Texas.

    The 42-year-old man was captured and then promptly taken to George Washington Medical Center for a medical evaluation.

    No one was harmed during the alarming event, however the White House was partially evacuated in the aftermath of Gonzalez’s actions.

    It was later revealed that the man was previously known to the Secret Service. Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary shared this information with CNN, however he would not clarify the exact nature of their existing familiarity with Gonzalez.

    The rare call for an evacuation was troubling to bystanders. CNN producer Becky Brittain shared that in her nine years of reporting at the White House, she’d never once been evacuated.

    The entire situation raises some startling questions. For starters, how a man like Gonzalez was able to get as close to the President as he did. That was one heck of a SPECIFIC window of time for this man to make his move.

    Also baffling was how this individual, known to the President’s security, was able to get as far as he did.

    Unarmed or not.

    Hopefully this incident will allow for a more careful evaluation of White House security standards in the immediate future.

    Gonzalez was arrested and charged with unlawful entry into the White House complex.

  • Miss Beazley, George W. Bush Family Dog, Has Died

    Miss Beazley, one of the former ‘First Dogs’ during President George W. Bush’s administration, has died of lymphoma. She was a Scottish terrier and often sat in the shadow of the Bush’s first First Dog, Barney. Barney was known for once biting a member of the White House press corps. Barney passed away in 2013, also from lymphoma.

    Miss Beazley was much friendlier than Barney and it seems she never made any enemies. President Bush alluded to this fact when he posted to Facebook announcing the beloved family pet’s passing.

    He first announced the passing in an official statement to the media on Saturday.

    “This weekend our beloved dog, Miss Beazley, was put to rest,” he said.

    Post by George W. Bush.

    Former President George W. Bush even mentioned how much his and wife Laura Bush’s cats loved Miss Beazley.

    “She was a guardian to our cats, Bob and Bernadette, who – like Laura and I – will miss her,” he wrote.

    It can be devastating when pets die. The Bush family is no doubt mourning the passing of Miss Beazley the way many people mourn beloved family members. Pets are cherished parts of many households and their deaths can leave huge voids that can’t simply be filled by adopting or buying a new pet. Their unique personalities go with them when they die and cannot ever be replaced.

    Condolences are no doubt going out to George W. and Laura Bush and their family from around the world for the passing of Miss Beazley. They loved their little dog for ten years and are certainly feeling her void. The huge hole in their hearts will eventually close, but never completely. It will one day be mostly filled, however, with loving memories of a very important part of their family.

    Image via Facebook

  • White House Goes on the Social Media Offensive with New ‘Shareables’ Resource

    There are very few things about the Obama presidency that are universally accepted and won’t start a family argument at Thanksgiving – but one of them is the administration’s impressive social media strategy. I mean, the President (…’s social media staff) is on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. They’ve conducted a reddit AMA. I don’t know why, but for a brief time Obama was on Foursquare. Social media helped President Obama get elected, then it helped him get reelected – and during his administration his social media team has used all available outlets to get his message across. You may or may not like that message, but the team is pumping it out one tweet at a time.

    Now, the White House is giving Obama supporters ammo in their Facebook flamewars.

    “Whether it’s with an infographic or a White Board video, we’re always looking for new ways to highlight the work President Obama is doing on behalf of the American people in a way that’s interesting and easy to understand,” says White House Deputy Director of Digital Strategy Nathaniel Lubin. “Earlier today, we released our latest feature in that effort: White House Sharables. Head over and take a look some of our favorite content in one easy-to-navigate page. You can sort by the issues important to you, or the type of content you’d like to see.”

    The White House Shareables page is a resource where social media users can find infographics, videos, and presentations that outline programs and ideas and the President supports. Each piece of Obama-supporting media can be shared via Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest with a click of a button.

    You’ll see infographics on topics like “The Importance of Higher Education” and “Ways Obamacare Helps You.” And you’ll see shareable videos on “Immigration Reform & Our Economy” and Obama’s plan to tackle student loans.

    You can sort all of the media by type and by issue.

    For an administration that’s been criticized for some failures to accurately and convincingly explain the President’s policies to the American people (read: The Affordable Care Act), this is one minor move to enlist the public to help spread the word. Still, it’s unlikely that you’ll see a heavily spike in traffic to the White House’s Shareables page – but it is a significant move to use social media to get the message across.

    Images via Whitehouse.gov

  • Obama Pardons Cobbler the Turkey After Facebook Vote

    For the first time ever, the White House enlisted Facebook to help President Obama make one of the most important decisions he could ever make as Commander in Chief and leader of the free world: Which turkey he should officially pardon for the 2012 Thanksgiving celebration.

    The White House asked Facebook users to vote between two 40+-pound birds named Cobbler and Gobbler. They cast their votes by liking and sharing separate posts feature each turkey.

    Facebook has spoken, and they chose Cobbler as this years official Thanksgiving turkey. Cobbler received a little under 200 more “likes” and about 40 more shares over the last couple of days.

    (image)

    The White House4 hours ago

    Today at 2 p.m. ET, President Obama pardons Cobbler, your 2012 National Thanksgiving Turkey, live from the Rose Garden. Meet Cobbler: http://on.fb.me/Wiaw11 Watch the ceremony live on Facebook with the White House Live app and at http://wh.gov/live

    Powered by socialditto(image)  1,000+ likes ·  474 comments

    As you would expect, PETA wasn’t pleased and asked President Obama to forgo the tradition of pardoning a turkey.

    “The White House turkey “pardon” is a sorely outdated event. It makes light of the mass slaughter of some 46 million gentle, intelligent birds and portrays the United States’ president as being in some sort of business partnership with the turkey-killing industry. Turkeys do not need to be “pardoned”—they are not guilty of anything other than being born into a world of prejudice. They are innocents who should be respected for who they are: good mothers, smart birds, and interesting animals,” wrote PETA President Ingrid Newkirk in a letter to Obama.

    Despite this protest, the pardoning went on as scheduled. You can watch it below:

    If you’re worried about what happened to Gobbler, the White House wants to assuage your fears:

    “It’s all gravy — no turkeys will be harmed during the selection of the National Thanksgiving Turkey. After the pardoning, both turkeys travel to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens to reside in a custom-made enclosure at Mount Vernon’s nationally recognized livestock facility.”

    Sure, it’s living out its days on a farm somewhere. Like we haven’t heard that before…

  • The White House Enlists Facebook to Choose the 2012 National Thanksgiving Turkey

    Pardoning a Thanksgiving turkey – it’s as American as football, overeating, and familial bickering. Though some stories attribute the first Turkey pardon to President Lincoln, George H.W. Bush was the first to give one an “official” presidential pardon.

    This year, Americans get to vote on which turkey will get the presidential pardon and be declared the 2012 National Thanksgiving Turkey. And they get to choose via Facebook.

    The White House’s Facebook page has posted two pictures of two different turkeys, one named Cobbler and the other named Gobbler. Whichever turkey receives the most “likes” and “shares” will be declared the winner.

    (image)

    The White House3 hours ago

    Want Cobbler to be the 2012 National Thanksgiving Turkey? “Like” and “share” this post to vote for Cobbler: http://wh.gov/turkey

    Powered by socialditto(image)  1,000+ likes ·  364 comments

    (image)

    The White House3 hours ago

    Want Gobbler to be the 2012 National Thanksgiving Turkey? “Like” and “share” this post to vote for Gobbler: http://wh.gov/turkey

    Powered by socialditto(image)  1,000+ likes ·  115 comments

    “Born on the same day on a farm in Rockingham Country, Virginia, Cobbler and Gobbler may look alike, but they’re no birds of a feather. Cobbler craves cranberries, is known for his strut, and enjoys the musical stylings of Carly Simon. Gobbler, a patient but proud bird, loves to nibble on corn and enjoys any music with a fiddle.”

    What happens to Cobbler if Gobbler is chosen or Gobbler if Cobbler is chosen?

    “It’s all gravy — no turkeys will be harmed during the selection of the National Thanksgiving Turkey. After the pardoning, both turkeys travel to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens to reside in a custom-made enclosure at Mount Vernon’s nationally recognized livestock facility. Additionally, if for any reason one turkey is unable to perform the duties of the National Thanksgiving Turkey, his alternate will take his place during the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation,” says the White House blog.

    We can only assume that despite what the White House says, the Turkey that doesn’t win the Facebook vote will be stuffed and served to Joe Biden.

    Or receive this fate:

  • Obama to Sign Executive Order Easing Broadband Deployment

    The White House has announced today that President Obama will sign an Executive Order tomorrow, requiring government agencies that manage Federal property to consolidate their methods for Leasing Federal land for broadband deployment. The White House states that this order will provide a streamlined, uniform approach the process of building out the country’s broadband infrastructure. The order also requires that Federal assets available for lease be displayed on department websites, along with the leasing requirements. In addition, leases will be required to be tracked via the Federal Infrastructure Projects Dashboard and departments will be directed to organize broadband deployment to coincide with planned construction work.

    “Building a nationwide broadband network will strengthen our economy and put more Americans back to work,” said President Obama. “By connecting every corner of our country to the digital age, we can help our businesses become more competitive, our students become more informed and our citizens become more engaged.”

    The White House also announced today the “US Ignite” initiative, which it hopes will promote development of broadband technologies for both public and commercial benefit. US Ignite will create a partnership between over 150, cities, corporations, non-profits, and research universities to develop ultra-high-speed, “programmable” broadband networks.

    Some of the participants in US Ignite have already announced commitments to the initiative. For example, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is promising to spend $20 million to deploy the ultra-high-speed broadband networks. Also, the NSF, Department of Energy, and the Mozilla Foundation will hold a design competition for apps for these networks. The Department of Defense will deploy ultra-high-speed networks to its bases and academies such as West Point.

  • Aneesh Chopra, First U.S. Chief Technology Officer, Is Stepping Down

    In 2009, President Obama tapped Virginia’s Secretary of Technology to fill a brand new job – the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer. Aneesh Chopra’s goal was to help bring the Federal government out of the 20th century and into a world filled with new technology.

    And now, Chopra is stepping down. The White House blog has nothing but great things to say about him:

    Aneesh has led that charge in an energetic, innovative, and amazingly effective manner, and sowed the seeds necessary to bring our government into the 21st century.

    Working with Aneesh for nearly three years has been an invigorating experience. Among a dizzying array of accomplishments, Aneesh helped design the President’s National Wireless Initiative, including the development of a nationwide public safety broadband network, establish a set of Internet Policy Principles including the call for a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, and led the implementation of the President’s open government strategy focused on unlocking the innovative potential of the federal government to solve problems and seed the jobs and industries of the future.

    One of his last announcements in office was the “America’s Next Top energy Innovator” challenge, a program designed to find entrepreneurs and visionaries in the field of energy innovations and advanced manufacturing.

    He also recently announced the “Green Button,” an initiative that allows households to download their energy use information so that they can make decisions to save energy and money.

    (image)@aneeshchopra
    Aneesh Chopra    Check out our new blog: “Building an Economy that Lasts – With Energy Innovation and Green Button” http://t.co/ZnmmW1Qv #greenbutton(image) 1 day ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Chopra made this statement about leaving to the Washington Post:

    After an incredible three years as the nation’s first chief technology officer, I am returning to my home state of Virginia to continue my work using innovative new technologies and platforms to improve healthcare, education and energy – and to grow the jobs and industries of the future. I want to thank the President for entrusting me with the task of fostering an innovation culture in government, and for his direction, engagement, and leadership on applying technology for the betterment of all Americans.

    Although he says that he’s going back home to focus on innovation, Democratic sources tell the post that Chopra is gearing up to run for the Lieutenant Governorship in Virginia.

  • Obama’s State of the Union Strategy: Social, Enhanced Broadcasts, and Watch Parties

    Tonight, President Obama will give the annual State of the Union address, and the White House wants this year’s SOTU to stand out in one specific way: increased interaction.

    As we approach the 2012 Election, Obama’s team has made a social media push that involves expanding into outlets that are a bit off the beaten path. Of course, the administration’s presence on both Twitter and Facebook is well documented and fierce. Both the official Barack Obama and White House Twitter accounts have millions of followers and have used strategies in the past to engage citizen participation. But they have moved into other networks in the past few months. In August 2011, the President joined Foursquare and the next month he joined Tumblr. Earlier this month, the campaign team joined photo-filtering social network Instagram. And last week, the White House finally joined the Google+ party.

    With social media obviously such a key part of the Obama team’s strategy, it should come as no shock that they are hoping to involve viewers of the SOTU via relevant channels.

    Social SOTU:

    The White House is asking that SOTU viewers participate in the discussion on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Users are being directed to used the #SOTU hashtag on Twitter, and Facebook users can join the discussion on the official White House page – where they can also RSVP to watch the address.

    There are also plans for a post-SOTU discussion panel. Senior Obama advisors will sit down and answer questions after the speech, and the questions will come from submissions on the White House site as well as ones posted to Twitter using the hashtag #WHChat.

    And in just under a week after the SOTU address, President Obama will sit down for a Google+ Hangout. The discussion during that event will be driven by top questions on YouTube. Some lucky YouTubers will be asked to take part in the live conversation on January 30th.

    Enhanced Broadcast:

    Whitehouse.gov is advertising an enhanced livestream of the President’s speech starting Tuesday at 9pm EST.

    There, the address will stream right next to accompanying charts, figures, and other graphics that support topics that the president is discussing in the speech. For instance, if Obama is talking about the gap between CEO and Worker salary in America, you might see a pie chart or other relevant graphic on the side.

    People that don’t want to deal with the enhanced broadcast can also watch the standard broadcast on the site.


    Host or Find a State of the Union Watch Party

    If you want to make watching the SOTU a real-life social event, you can create your own Watch Party event on barackobama.com. If you don’t feel like hosting, you can also search by zip code to find Watch Parties in your area.

    For instance, in my area, the State Democratic Headquarters have advertised a Watch Party, saying: “Join us for some good old Democratic fellowship and discuss how you can help this hard working President! In the past, President Obama’s State of the Union address has been a plan for the year ahead — and the priorities outlined in those speeches have led to many of this administration’s accomplish…”

    Will you be watching the President’s SOTU address? Will you participate using social media? Let us know in the comments.

  • Obama To Host Post-State of the Union Google+ Hangout

    Just a few days after joining Google+, President Obama isn’t wasting any time before interacting with the new social base. Monday morning, The White House announced that the President will be holding a special post-State of the Union Hangout, where he will answer user-submitted questions.

    The State of the Union address is set for Tuesday, January 24th and the special Google+ Hangout will take place on January 30th.

    In the first completely-virtual interview from the White House, President Obama will answer questions that have been submitted by Americans from across the country via YouTube. The virtual event with the President will happen through Google+ Hangouts, a live multi-person video chat.

    On Monday, January 30, the President will join a special Google+ Hangout from the West Wing. He’ll be answering several of the most popular questions that have been submitted through YouTube, and some of the people who submitted questions will even be invited to join the President in the Hangout and take part in the live conversation

    When the White House first joined Google+, they announced that staff members and experts would be answering user questions directly following the State of the Union, but the fact that this is all culminating with a Hangout with Obama himself is big news.

    You can submit your questions to the White House YouTube channel until January 28th.

    I guess the White House saw the latest figures that said Google+ has skyrocketed to 90+ million users. They also announced that Obama’s Weekly video address will be broadcast through Google+.

  • The White House Joins Google+, Wants To Hangout With You

    You now have one more way to follow the Obama administration’s day-to-day activities as The White House has officially joined Google+.

    According to their first post, you can expect to find news, behind the scenes photos, videos, and discussion topics when you visit the new page:

    Welcome to the White House on Google+! Here you’ll find news from the blog, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, plus chances to engage with administration officials. One feature we’re really excited about are Hangouts. On our Google+ page, we’ll host regular White House Hangouts with administration officials on topics ranging from the economy to technology. Some Google+ users will be invited to join the Hangout with the White House and have a conversation with policy experts. But the best part is that even if you’re not “in” the Hangout, you can watch the whole thing live on WhiteHouse.gov, on our Google+ page or on the White House YouTube channel.

    So you probably won’t be hanging out with the President himself, but it looks like the administration wants to engage a new audience in policy discussions.

    The White House has only posted twice today, but have already been added to over 7,000 circles. Their only other post is a video of Senior Advisor David Plouffe. Here, he discusses how you can interact with The White House on Google+ (and other social networks) following the upcoming State of the Union address:

    The White House has already asked users what kind of discussion topics they would find most interesting. The latest comment asks “does the White House use plug in air fresheners of potpourri baskets,” so, yeah.

    Already a presence on both Twitter and Facebook, the Obama administration has spent the last year trying to expand their social media reach through other channels. In August 2011, Obama joined Foursquare and in October he joined Tumblr. And earlier this month, the Obama campaign opened up an Instagram account, hoping to provide voters an inside look at the trail through photos.

  • SOPA Petition Gains Steam, Some Are Less Than Enthusiastic About Its Prospects

    SOPA Petition Gains Steam, Some Are Less Than Enthusiastic About Its Prospects

    We’ve recently told you about the backlash coming from all angles concerning the Stop Online Piracy Act (PROTECT-IP/E-PARASITE Act), a bill currently being debated in the halls of Congress that many feel would create the “Great Firewall of America.” The bill has been a topic of discussion and derision for free internet advocates on the web for some time now, and it was just this week that some big names on the internet like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo and AOL threw their support against the legislation.

    We reported earlier this month on the new petition site started by the White House called “We The People.” It’s a service where users can submit petitions on pretty much any topic, and if it receives enough signatures, the White House will issue an official response.

    Back then, we told you about a We The People petition called “Stop the E-PARASITE Act” that had garnered over 7,000 signatures. And as of right now, it has over 38,000 and is growing rapidly. The petition was submitted on October 31st.

    Here’s what it argues, quite succinctly and effectively I might add:

    This Bill would allow essentially allow A Great Firewall of America and would be a shameful desecration of free speech and any sort of reasonable copyright law. The new Law would allow copyright holders to force websites which have any copyrighted material to be blocked by ISP companies around the country, without requiring that the websites be given time to take the offending material down. It would also put pressure on ISP companies to monitor their users like never before, a gross invasion of privacy. This bill is a direct assault on a free internet and a shameful attempt by copyright lobbyists to destroy net neutrality. Essentially it’s a censorship law that would end the internet as we know it in America.

    The creator of the petition is a redditor, and he took to the site to talk about his petition, where he says thanks for all the support.

    The problem is that not everyone has faith that the We The People initiative is all that helpful. Internet users in the past have expressed frustration over some of the responses from the White House, especially concerning a particular petition on the legalization of marijuana.

    For instance, here’s the top voted comment on the reddit post about the petition:

    I read that if a petition gets enough signatures, the president will personally print it out and wipe his ass with it.

    Another example of the lack of faith in this new petition system comes in the form of an actual petition on the site called “We demand a vapid, condescending, meaningless, politically safe response to this petition.” It’s gathered nearly 12,000 signatures already.

    Since these petitions are ignored apart from an occasional patronizing and inane political statement amounting to nothing more than a condescending pat on the head, we the signers would enjoy having the illusion of success. Since no other outcome to this process seems possible, we demand that the White House immediately assign a junior staffer to compose a tame and vapid response to this petition, and never attempt to take any meaningful action on this or any other issue. We would also like a cookie.

    Each petition currently has to reach the threshold of 25,000 signatures in a month, so it looks like the White House is going to have to give a response to the Stop SOPA petition. Let’s just hope it’s not that vapid, condescending, politically safe response that many have come to expect.

  • Student Loan Forgiveness Addressed By White House In Response To Online Petition

    Back in September, the White House launched an online petition platform that they said would “give all Americans a way to create and sign petitions on a range of issues affecting our nation.”

    The platform, called We The People, is open to anyone 13 or older. Once you create a petition and submit it to the site, it’s your job to build momentum for your idea using social media and old-fashioned word of mouth. If a petition reaches 150 signatures in 30 days, it because logged and searchable within the database. If the petition reaches 25,000 signatures, it gets an official response from the White House.

    The original threshold for a response was 5,000 signatures in 30 days, but it appears that the White House wasn’t going to be able to respond to all of the petitions that got that many signatures, so the limit was raised.

    The first petition to merit a response from the White House has just gotten its response. The petition for the Obama administration to “Forgive Student Loan Debt to Stimulate the Economy and Usher in a New Era of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Prosperity” currently has over 32K signatures on the We The People site.

    Forgiving student loan debt would provide an immediate jolt to the economy by putting hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of extra dollars into the hands of people who WILL spend it – not just once, but each and every month thereafter – freeing them up to invest, buy homes, start businesses and families.

    That’s what the petition’s creator, Robert A of Staten Island says about his proposal.

    The White House’s special assistant to the President for Education Policy has responded, saying –

    We agree that reducing the burden of student loans is an effective way to stimulate the economy and save taxpayer dollars. That’s why we’re excited to announce a new policy that speaks to the concerns expressed in this petition.

    The response goes on to explain the situation of student debt in the country and then links to the official press release concerning Obama’s new plan to lower student debt payments. Here’s the crux of the plan –

    The Administration is moving forward with a new “Pay As You Earn” proposal that will reduce monthly payments for more than one and a half million current college students and borrowers. Starting in 2014, borrowers will be able to reduce their monthly student loan payments to 10 percent of their discretionary income. But President Obama realizes that many students need relief sooner than that. The new “Pay As You Earn” proposal will allow about 1.6 million students the ability to cap their loan payments at 10 percent starting next year, and the plan will forgive the balance of their debt after 20 years of payments. Additionally, starting this January an estimated 6 million students and recent college graduates will be able to consolidate their loans and reduce their interest rates.

    Current income-based plans allow students to cap their payments to 15% of discretionary income, with remaining debt forgiven after 25 years. The new plan expedites a plan enacted by Congress set to go into effect in 2014.

    Obama also unveiled the plan while speaking at the University of Colorado in Denver this afternoon.

    Whether you believe that this is a good use of the web and social media or you feel skeptical about the power of individuals to enact change in this way, you have to admit that it’s a pretty interesting coordination of online presence and domestic politics. Whether you believe in the plan or not, it is interesting that the President unveiled a plan, it seems, based on the most-signed online petition on We The People.

  • White House Throws Support Behind New Anti-Piracy Agreement

    Not long after the news broke that top Internet Service Providers had agreed to a deal with the music and film industries to adopt a new, graduated response to piracy, the White House threw its support behind the deal on their official blog.

    Yesterday, the agreement that had been rumored for weeks was finalized. In brief, ISPs have said that they will participate in the efforts against online piracy by implementing a “graduated response,” which basically means a penalty system that increases in severity with each infraction.

    Except the first four measures are simply slap-on-the-wrist warnings to “illegal file sharers.” Upon the fifth time that copyright holders flag you as a participant in piracy, the ISPs have the “voluntary” responsibility to implement one of many measures. Those include actions like the slowing of internet speeds and redirecting web traffic to designated pages pending the completion of an educational program on the ills of piracy.

    Speaking on behalf of the White House, U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel said that the Obama administration is “committed to reducing infringement of American intellectual property.”

    Here is some more of her statement –

    The joining of Internet service providers and entertainment companies in a cooperative effort to combat online infringement can further this goal and we commend them for reaching this agreement. We believe it will have a significant impact on reducing online piracy.

    We believe that this agreement is a positive step and consistent with our strategy of encouraging voluntary efforts to strengthen online intellectual property enforcement and with our broader Internet policy principles, emphasizing privacy, free speech, competition and due process.

    As such, we will follow the implementation and outcomes of this arrangement with great interest. Our expectation is that the new organization created by it will have ongoing consultations with privacy and freedom of expression advocacy groups to assure that its practices are fully consistent with the democratic values that have helped the Internet to flourish.

    Simultaneously, the Administration will continue to pursue comprehensive solutions to the problems associated with Internet piracy, including increased law enforcement and educational awareness. To win the future and succeed in the global economy, it is critical to protect the intellectual property of America’s innovators and creators.

    The takeaway: To win the future, we have to prevent John Q. P2P from downloading The Expendables?

    Another, more serious takeaway from this statement: With the administration officially behind the agreement, does it really fall into the realm of “voluntary” for the ISPs anymore?

    With regard to broader issues like free speech and communication, do we really want ISPs having the final say on our “guilt” when it comes to filesharing? Do we want them to be able to limit our internet access based on accusations by copyright holders? And is it alarming that the White House thinks that they should?

    As Nate Anderson at Ars Technica writes –

    There’s a huge, obvious risk to piling up the obligations on intermediaries, who begin taking action against people without court orders and in areas in which they may have no technical expertise. (While appeal mechanisms are available, the new infringement agreement is a “guilty until proven innocent” approach.) ISPs dealing with spam and viruses and DDoS attacks is one thing; ISPs dealing with copyright, speech, and fair use issues is another entirely.

    Today’s focus on “education” is therefore an encouraging one, but the “mitigation” measures ISPs will start taking raise key questions. How far we want ISPs to go in private enforcement actions that might target speech, communications, and even Internet access itself is a debate well worth revisiting in light of today’s news—and the White House support for such approaches.

    Folks on Twitter, for the most part, aren’t too happy about the White House involvement –

    @JPBarlow
    John Perry Barlow    White House will “win the future” with heavy copyright crackdown. Yeah. And lose my vote. http://arst.ch/q51 6 hours ago via Twittelator · powered by @socialditto

    @The_Real_KC
    Kinson Chan    ISP copyright cops. What’s next? Make auto manufacturers control speeding? http://tncr.ws/rGOe 8 hours ago via BlackBird for Playbook · powered by @socialditto

    @rsingel
    Ryan Singel    This is embarrassing. White House says it will “win the future” by turning ISPs into copyright guardians. http://1.usa.gov/qPTcVX 11 hours ago via Tweetie for Mac · powered by @socialditto

    What do you guys think? Should ISPs become protectors of copyright? Let us know in the comments.