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As many as 7,000 websites are participating today in protests of some form or another against the U.S. House Of Representatives’ Stop Online Piracy Act and the U.S. Senate’s companion Protect IP Act. Some are going dark. Others are calling attention to the issue in less dramatic ways. Among the more prominent are Wikipedia, Google, Reddit, WordPress, TwitPic, Cheezburger, BoingBoing, several gaming companies including Minecraft, and Mozilla, source of the Firefox web browser. Wikipedia, BoingBoing and Minecraft have gone dark. Others, like Google, are displaying home page illustrations or visual statements about censorship and urging visitors to contact their elected representatives.
MPAA CEO Chris Dodd criticized the protesters for “resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their corporate pawns, rather than coming to the table to find solutions to a problem that all now seem to agree is very real and damaging.” Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), sponsor of SOPA, responded to Wikipedia going black: “It is ironic that a website dedicated to providing information is spreading misinformation about the Stop Online Piracy Act. The bill will not harm Wikipedia, domestic blogs or social networking sites. This publicity stunt does a disservice to its users by promoting fear instead of facts. Perhaps during the blackout, Internet users can look elsewhere for an accurate definition of online piracy.” Smith also said the House Judiciary Committee would go forward with a mark-up of the legislation in February.
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Personally, I think the underlying issue is more about the corporatocracy/government giving itself jurisdiction over the Internet so it can quash the kind of Internet use that worked for the Arab Spring, etc.
We need to be like those second amendment freaks who fight for their right to bear arms.
How is one a freak if they are fighting for a right? Are blacks freaks fighting for their rights? Are gays freaks fighting for their rights?
And what do you think the first thing the Arab nations did to suppress their people? Take the guns rights away. And what do you think Obama is doing with the CIA to help them? Give them guns.
How stupid are you leftists? When do you learn?
I venture to say that if we look at any major piece of legislation that STARTED a movement for civil rights (and this IS the ONLY bill standing up for I. P. creators in the digital age)… They ain’t perfect. It took a load of amendments post voting rights act, etc… That said, if entertainment/tech/I.p. opponents of sopa spent as much time FIXING the bill and helping craft protections for content creators as they do railing against sopa futzing with “Internet freedom”… I think we can agree we’d all have a healthier future for I.p. Sopa is the only bill in digital age to address protecting content creators. Until there’s something better… It DEMANDS our support unless we wanna concede that I.p. is worthless. If you have something better… PLEASE get THAT into a bill. In the meantime, the record business and virtually all other content is being given away… And time has come to take a stand.
Have you even read the bill? I have. The whole document is poorly worded and doesn’t do anything to address the problems of piracy – only make it (slightly) more difficult to access the offending sites, at the risk of free speech.
The industry should be innovating and encouraging alternatives like NetFlix. You say that “until something better comes along”, we should support this. I’m saying that the industry hasn’t done a damn thing to create anything better, short of trying to buy votes in Congress for a half-assed measure that does nothing except stymie due process and wrest control of content from independent creators (and that’s what this bill will do) in favor of corporations. It’s just like all the other times the MPAA has cried fowl – over VHS, over streaming video and now this.
Think before you comment next time.
“I venture to say that if we look at any major piece of legislation that STARTED a movement for civil rights (and this IS the ONLY bill standing up for I. P. creators in the digital age)… ”
This isn’t standing up for I.P. creators, these bills would destroy the multimedia tools and platforms they could use to market, promote, and distribute their work themselves. Maybe that’s what you really want, to take away people’s means to DIY their work and force them back to the gatekeepers. YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Ustream, Foursquare, Photobucket, Flkr, Instagram, Vimeo, etc. These are unprecedented multimedia tools that creators have at their disposal all FREE to use and create. Set up partnerships and generate revenue. It’s being done right now but maybe your real agenda is to take that away.
If Hollywood can have laws be for them, then what stops all these other corporations from having laws for them?
The problem is the law as written would effectively shut this conversation we’re having down. Deadline would be held legally responsible for everything its users wrote on this site. Is that what we want? Do we want to hand over the keys to the kingdom to the movie industry just because they’ve been wronged by some internet users? Would we let Walmart throw away the constitution because shoplifting is a problem for them?
my senator johnny isackson (R-GA.)is a sponsor of this bill and has usually wanted to reduce government but this will require more oh well the Murdock’s&rockerfeller’s are the type of guys who will make more$$$$$$$$$ on this bill!
Hello my American Friends!
This is the Northern European Alliance. Please be advised that effective immediately, we will no longer process any internet access from the United States. The potential for US court liabilities is not worth the headache. Any and all IP addresses will be denied.
However, if you need access, you can get preclearance through your TSA department if they have approved and cleaned your computer of any offending, or possibly offending material.Monthly charges may apply.Your browsing history in accessing our internet will be cached for not less than 36 months.
Prosit!
@Fan
How long has file sharing existed now? The answer is over a decade. I have not seen a depreciation in the amount of movies, music, or television shows.
The companies are making money still just not as much. Lack of quality, and hard economic times are to blame for that.
If they are so worried about piracy why don’t the companies pool money together, and create super crack proof hardware-software. They have effectively stopped wifi cracking with WPA2 as long as you choose a decent password why can’t they do the same for films, music, and tv?
people will find a way to get around the bill if it passes
You all suck.. Quit fighting like school kids, your thoughts and words have no imput on this act so save your breath. bring back free music downloads!!!