SOPA and PIPA – the web’s four letter words

 

You may notice that the internet is slightly quieter than you are used to tomorrow.  This is due to numerous internet giants protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). Opponents to the bills state that if passed into law, they will stifle innovation and undermine free speech through unreasonable internet censorship.

On 18/01/12: Wikipedia, user-submitted news site Reddit, the blog Boing Boing and the Cheezburger network of comedy sites all plan to participate in the blackout.  They will follow in the web steps of the Italian Wikipedia site following similar anti piracy legislation proposed in Italy last year.

According to Wikipedia, SOPA “would allow the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as copyright holders, to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement.  Depending on who makes the request, the court order could include barring online advertising networks and payment facilitators, such as PayPal, from doing business with the allegedly infringing website, barring search engines from linking to such sites, and requiring Internet service providers to block access to such sites.  The bill would make unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content a crime, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison for ten such infringements within six months.”

I urge you to read this today as Wikipedia will be ‘dark’ tomorrow.  You can find more about the Wikipedia: SOPA initiative here.

Both bills appear ill thought through and have been condemned by the internet at large.  You can see a pretty reasoned argument against both bills in this video by Cynical Brit, a UK gaming journalist and learn more about the bills themselves in this handy infographic from AmericanCensorship.org.

As a social media consultancy that generates revenue and jobs directly through a healthy and free web, both of these bills need to go back to the drawing board.  It is obvious that companies that produce games, music, film and other IP need to be protected from piracy, but knee jerk legislation is not the answer. There needs to be future consultation with the internet big guns, Facebook et al.

SOPA was ‘shelved’ yesterday awaiting consensus on the bill. PIPA advocate and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled a vote on the bill on 24/01/12.  Swot up on this subject, because if you operate online this does effect you.

Enhanced by Zemanta
If you want to show your support and join the debate, Tweet below!


Latest Posts

You may have planning hats on for early 2024 – but before you put that plan in action to wind away the weeks before Christmas, read these 5 tips for your next B2B social campaign! Consider them as B2B social solutions. You may have caught our latest…
Read More
Staying updated on the ever-evolving social media world can be challenging. Here are the latest highlights: X announces the return of post deadlines X introduces the reinstatement of post headlines within in-stream link previews. In October, X made the decision to remove post headlines and preview text, altering how publications…
Read More
In Social Media, organic efforts can only take you so far. While they are vital, the secret sauce to elevate your brand's social presence lies in embracing the dynamic duo of organic and paid social ads. Why? Because the two work better together!
Read More