Currently up for debate in the United States House of Representatives is the Stop Online Piracy Act. The fact that this bill even exists in any form is perfect evidence on just how broken the U.S.political system is at present.
What the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) effectively is, is legislation designed to put the internet under the control of corporations, and the United States Government. It is being lobbied for by the entertainment industry, namely with companies like Viacom, Fox, and various record companies, to put an end to people enjoying counterfeit copy-written material. However, it affects everyone; not just those who partake in pirated material.
This legislation is so extreme and so sweeping that it will literally break the internet. I know I sound like Chicken Little, but listen up! This will fundamentally change the internet and the way that we interact with each other forever. According to a January 12th report on Trcbnews.com, if this bill were to take effect, it would allow the U.S. government or any private entity to shutdown any website that has pirated intellectual property (IP) OR even a link to a website with pirated IP. Furthermore, these websites would be shutdown directly by the government, without ever appearing before any sort of judge or jury.
Just think for a moment about all the websites that you use, and how many of them might either have copy written material on it, or a link to copy written material on it . . . yeah, that’s right; almost all of your favourite sites are under threat by SOPA. YouTube: gone. Facebook: gone. Reddit, Twitter, Stumbleupon: gone. This law does not just remove the offending material from the site, but shuts it down entirely.
This extreme legislation essentially legalizes the censorship of the internet and destroys freedom of speech and communication. Removing pirated or copy-written material from a website is one thing, but to shut a website down entirely goes way beyond the pale of reason. There are other countries where the ruling classes shut down websites, and censor information: they are called China, North Korea and Iran. I honestly cannot believe that the House of Representatives is even considering this bill, which openly crushes human rights.
SOPA will be voted on the 24th of January, and when you wake up the next day, you may live in a very different place. Lately, comedians, authors, politicians, activists, and celebrities have been taking aim at the U.S. of A. and it’s because of bullshit like this!America was built on slogans promising personal freedoms and civil rights, but now, big business and the evangelical, conservative right are taking aim at the very fundamentalsAmerica holds dear. Unfortunately, this time, they are messing with each and every one of us, because in caseAmerica didn’t notice, we use the internet too.
