Stop SOPA and PIPA!
Had a few people ask me about SOPA at work and I figured I would post about it since I can't just say "Go to Wikipedia" since it will be Dark for another 24 hours. But basicly there is a couple bills that are being discussed tomarrow (that is why a lot of sites like Wikipedia) will dark or have modified logos. They are the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Properties Act (PIPA) the bills themselves have good intentions, allowing the companies to go after foreign sites like Pirate Bay. At the moment, they can't.
The problem is there is the very real concern that these bill, if passed, could lead to censoring the internet. The reason is because some of the ways that they would prevent internet piracy are the same ways countries like China censor the internet. Not only that, but it could also open the door to more control by the government and groups like the MPAA. at the moment they are just going after piracy sites, but they could easily target anything they want, just as MEAW or even guys who do parody songs like Weird Al, even though none of them are illegal! (in fact there have been several court cases, including by the Supreme Court, that found that parodies are perfectly legal.)
The really funny thing is that they won't actually work. People who know what they are doing will still be able to get to these sites. it will just make it harder for everyone else to get to them. so it won't actually effect the people who use them a lot. but like I said, there is the very real concern that other sites could be blocked for what ever reason some CEO in Hollywood can think of that would effect the people who don't know how to get around this.
There is some good news. the White House is opposed to large portions of these bills (whether that is due to pressure from oposition groups or because Obama genuinly doesn't like them is unknown) and they are being shelved for the time being until they can work out the problems with them. They have not been killed though. repeat THEY HAVE NOT BEEN KILLED!!!! The bills are still out there, waiting to be re-done. Probably buried in some other bill that wil go through or renamed in such a way that it will seem like a different bill.
Obviously this is a big problem. And the only way to stop it is to appeal to our elected officials desire to be re-elected and not have to do actual work. If enough of us let them know that we do not support these bills, maybe they will fear for their jobs and oppose it as well. so contact them. If you don't know how to, go to Wikipedia. On the main page there is a box to type your zipcode into that will give you info on how to contact them. and if it is after 1/18/2012 when you read this, you can go to the EFF's website ( here is a direct link to the page you need)
Tell the people WE put in charge that we do not support this bill! Only by working together can we hope get through to them.
The problem is there is the very real concern that these bill, if passed, could lead to censoring the internet. The reason is because some of the ways that they would prevent internet piracy are the same ways countries like China censor the internet. Not only that, but it could also open the door to more control by the government and groups like the MPAA. at the moment they are just going after piracy sites, but they could easily target anything they want, just as MEAW or even guys who do parody songs like Weird Al, even though none of them are illegal! (in fact there have been several court cases, including by the Supreme Court, that found that parodies are perfectly legal.)
The really funny thing is that they won't actually work. People who know what they are doing will still be able to get to these sites. it will just make it harder for everyone else to get to them. so it won't actually effect the people who use them a lot. but like I said, there is the very real concern that other sites could be blocked for what ever reason some CEO in Hollywood can think of that would effect the people who don't know how to get around this.
There is some good news. the White House is opposed to large portions of these bills (whether that is due to pressure from oposition groups or because Obama genuinly doesn't like them is unknown) and they are being shelved for the time being until they can work out the problems with them. They have not been killed though. repeat THEY HAVE NOT BEEN KILLED!!!! The bills are still out there, waiting to be re-done. Probably buried in some other bill that wil go through or renamed in such a way that it will seem like a different bill.
Obviously this is a big problem. And the only way to stop it is to appeal to our elected officials desire to be re-elected and not have to do actual work. If enough of us let them know that we do not support these bills, maybe they will fear for their jobs and oppose it as well. so contact them. If you don't know how to, go to Wikipedia. On the main page there is a box to type your zipcode into that will give you info on how to contact them. and if it is after 1/18/2012 when you read this, you can go to the EFF's website ( here is a direct link to the page you need)
Tell the people WE put in charge that we do not support this bill! Only by working together can we hope get through to them.
posted by R.C. at
11:19 PM
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