We live in a world of acronyms that effortlessly slip off our tongues and sometimes disguise or minimize the intent of an organization or group. Stop Online Piracy Act catches my attention while SOPA did not. Protest Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) makes me wonder...what is this about? I'm sure there were a lot of people today who were unaware of these two House bills until they sought information from Google or Wikipedia and saw a blacked out Google logo and a shut down Wikipedia site. Google and Wikipedia are protesting the expansion of U.S. law enforcement to include online copyright infringement. The provisions of these bills would include requesting court orders to ban web search engines from linking to certain websites, and would require that internet service providers block access to the websites. The proposed law would have expanded existing criminal laws to include unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content, imposing a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Who requested that SOPA and PIPA bills be drawn up to put the squeeze on the sale of pirated United States products via the internet? The film and music industry,of course. SONY to be exact. Like these guys don't make enough money? Let's pick on the Kardashians for example. They can't sing, dance, or act, but are worth hundreds of millions collectively, and we can only imagine what financial horrors might happen to their nine-digit incomes, or to BravoTV network, or NBC, if a bored late-night viewer in Italy illegally downloaded one of their episodes. This is my own generalization, but this is what SOPA and PIPA are really about. More money, more money, more money. The film and music industries make untold billions from lucrative royalties and they want more. Sony is not satisfied.
If the legislation were passed, a provision would be to enable federal authorities to block sites accused of piracy or copyright infringement. Not convicted, but accused. Sounds a bit Big Brotherish, doesn't it? The vagueness of the bill would definitely have an impact on online freedoms. Though not a supporter of piracy, I am definitely a proponent of freedom of speech and expression and believe the government should not have the right to regulate the internet. Everyone should have the right to free internet material without having to pay for it. I am aware that there are some websites you have to pay for and rightly so. They are not for the general public, and are separate from the issues I am addressing.
The bold protest by Wikipedia in shutting down for twenty-four hours with the message - "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge." I can't. Contact your local Congressperson and let them know you do not support SOPA or PIPA. The First Amendment is worth fighting for.
