Recent political events and uprisings have cemented the internet’s
importance in communicating and coordinating such events. Today the
internet is again finding itself at the forefront of a protest, only
this time it is not just the scheduler but the “meeting ground.”
You may have noticed today that some sites have been “blacked-out,”
including major sites like American Wikipedia, the Cheezburger
Network, and reddit. Or perhaps you’ve noticed the tag on Google’s
homepage. This “blackout” is to show opposition to the Stop Online
Piracy Act (SOPA), or House Bill 3261.
SOPA was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Lamar
Smith on October 11, 2011. The goal of the law as stated in its full
title (and the goal of its predecessor in the Senate, Protect IP, or
PIPA) is “To promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and
innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property, and for other
purposes. “ The bill hopes to give the US Department of Justice and
copyright holders more tools to combat copyright infringement coming
from websites hosted outside of the US. Currently any lawsuit between
a US company and a website overseas is futile, for obvious reasons.
You can get more information on what exactly these “tools” are here.
Opponents of the bill argue that it goes too far, claiming that its
wording opens a dangerous door to infringement on free speech and the
potential for government censorship. They also argue that it will be
ineffective, given simple work-arounds, and that it risks disrupting
the security of many websites and their visitors.
But rather than filling your ears with yet another opinion on SOPA or
giving you the details that you already know or could find in
a minute’s Google-ing, I really just want to make one small
observation.
Today the internet is again proving its importance in spreading
awareness of issues that do, or will in time, directly affect us all.
If you’d like more information on SOPA and PIPA this CNET article,
“How SOPA would affect you: FAQ,” is a good place to start.
We want to know: Do you think the social good often promoted online outweighs the negative effects of such things as piracy?
