SOPA/PIPA
18/01/12 23:24
So what's on the top of recent events? SOPA and PIPA. In case you don't know what these are, they are the Stop Online Piracy Act, and the Protect IP Act. These sound like some nice ways to stand up to the "criminals" of internet piracy. Right? Wrong!
These are two legislations that very well hold the power to change the internet as we know it. It's not the fact that they are anti-piracy that will ruin everything. It's mainly due to the way that these bills are written. They provide a broad range of powers for a broad range of infractions to a broad range on people.
Section 102(a)(2) permits the attorney general to take action against foreign sites (i.e., sites that do not fall under U.S. jurisdiction) if “the owner or operator of such Internet site is facilitating the commission of [copyright... infringement].” This doesn't state for THEFT but an copyright infringement.. which is EASY to break. Almost every daily website you visit has a form of copyright infringement. (any site with a comment box or picture upload) This bill turns us all into criminals. If it passes, then you either stop using the Internet, or you simply hope that you never end up in the crosshairs, because if you’re targeted, you will be destroyed by this bill.
But on the other hand. The government will never be able to suppress the internet. They may have the resources we don’t have, but not the willpower we do. We will just find new ways to get around their "censorship" and blockades. We will stand up and fight them until the end. If we can't be free on the internet, then we will make the outernet. The voice and heart of the American people is stronger than the white house can imagine. So even if these either or both of these bills pass. The internet will still thrive, it's up to us to make sure it does.
"But now we are faced with a new and troubling assault on our fiscal security, on our very economic life, and we are facing it from a thing called the Video Cassette Recorder" -- MPAA President Jack Valenti in 1982 In regards to the VCR.
These are two legislations that very well hold the power to change the internet as we know it. It's not the fact that they are anti-piracy that will ruin everything. It's mainly due to the way that these bills are written. They provide a broad range of powers for a broad range of infractions to a broad range on people.
Section 102(a)(2) permits the attorney general to take action against foreign sites (i.e., sites that do not fall under U.S. jurisdiction) if “the owner or operator of such Internet site is facilitating the commission of [copyright... infringement].” This doesn't state for THEFT but an copyright infringement.. which is EASY to break. Almost every daily website you visit has a form of copyright infringement. (any site with a comment box or picture upload) This bill turns us all into criminals. If it passes, then you either stop using the Internet, or you simply hope that you never end up in the crosshairs, because if you’re targeted, you will be destroyed by this bill.
But on the other hand. The government will never be able to suppress the internet. They may have the resources we don’t have, but not the willpower we do. We will just find new ways to get around their "censorship" and blockades. We will stand up and fight them until the end. If we can't be free on the internet, then we will make the outernet. The voice and heart of the American people is stronger than the white house can imagine. So even if these either or both of these bills pass. The internet will still thrive, it's up to us to make sure it does.
"But now we are faced with a new and troubling assault on our fiscal security, on our very economic life, and we are facing it from a thing called the Video Cassette Recorder" -- MPAA President Jack Valenti in 1982 In regards to the VCR.