So, you might have heard some word about these bills “SOPA” (Stop Online Piracy Act) and “PIPA” (Protect IP Act). These bills were established October 26th, 2011 with the introduction of SOPA from the House of Representatives congressman – Lamar S. Smith. Basically the reason for the creation of these acts is to put an end to online piracy and the spread of illegally downloaded software, games, music, you name it. These bills come from the constant demand for intellectual property protection from organizations such as Universal Media Group, RIAA, and the MPAA. While this may seem like a very necessary and helpful action, the true potential of these bills is in fact far from its proclaimed intent.
What does SOPA and PIPA mean to you?
Together, these bills will allow for full censorship of the world-wide-web, otherwise known as the internet. What does that mean? It means that whatever you post on your Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, or whatever it may be – is up for revision by the U.S. government. Sounds a little bit like the censorship of the internet taking place in the People’s Republic of China, doesn’t it? That’s because it ultimately IS.
Let’s say you post a video on Youtube, whatever the intent of the video may be, and you include a song in that video. If you do not personally own the rights to that song, that video will be removed. Think of all the videos on Youtube right now that fit that description… That is a LOT of content, just gone now. Or maybe you post an image on your Facebook, something you found funny or just liked. Once again, that being an image you do not personally own, will be removed. This affects a lot of content and innovation that we all love so much on the web.
Here’s what will happen if SOPA and PIPA become laws of the U.S. constitution:
- Security threats – countless websites will be forced to modify their software opening security holes and increased vulnerability to their websites.
- Free Speech Infringement – the government controls what you can and can’t publish to what was once the worlds greatest free information resource.
- Innovation Out the Window – developers and publishers will have a very hard time establishing government-approved content and products.
- “Internet Police” – The federal government will be using ISPs, cable companies, web hosts, etc. as their task force to achieved a censored internet.
That is just the quick summary of what these bills could mean. Maybe the bill sponsors Lamar Smith and Patrick Leahy didn’t intend on infringing on free speech or basically destroying the internet we all know and love, but that is exactly what these bills threaten to do if passed.
The sad part is that there are other ways to run a business in these industries without violating U.S. law or taking part in online piracy. Services such as iTunes, Steam, Pandora, and Last-FM all offer services for digital goods like music, movies, and games, and they do it LEGALLY. All it takes is a little innovation to provide a better service like these organizations do. What does the federal government want to do? Take full control of the internet and online life.
What can you do?
I know it seems like there isn’t much you can do about this sort of thing, but you are the ones that CAN. Contact your local representatives office and give them a piece of your mind!
Find and contact your local representative:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Join the fight against online censorship:
http://americancensorship.org/