The "Irish SOPA" law, which makes provision for arbitrary, ISP-level national censorship without court orders, has been signed — despite the law's unpopularity and the widespread protests against it.
The Irish Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock, is insisting that the final version of the bill is much more limited than earlier proposals, and that it took guidance from recent EU Court of Justice rulings that say ISPs shouldn't have to be proactive about blocking. That still means that copyright holders can petition to force ISPs to block all access to various websites, and as we've seen in other countries in Europe, you can bet that the major record labels and studios will be doing just that very soon (if they haven't already) — though their track record on properly calling out infringement isn't very good.
Ireland Signs Controversial 'Irish SOPA' Into Law; Kicks Off New Censorship Regime
