Going Dark

In case you haven’t heard, there are two “anti-piracy“ bills (SOPA and PIPA) working their way through congress right now that are not going over well with people who like the internet. The reason I put “anti-piracy” in quotes is because these bills are really not about piracy so much as they are about control of the open internet. Embedded in these bills are provisions that would basically ruin internet security and openness, and put everyone who links or allows links on a site in danger of prosecution. I won’t go into them but if you’d like to learn all about it, just visit Wikipedia today. They have joined the Blackout along with many other internet sites, in protest to these dreadful bills.

 

“SOPA and PIPA put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won't have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn't being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won't show up in major search engines. SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.

 

In a world in which politicians regulate the Internet based on the influence of big money, Wikipedia — and sites like it — cannot survive.

 

Congress says it's trying to protect the rights of copyright owners, but the "cure" that SOPA and PIPA represent is worse than the disease. SOPA and PIPA are not the answer: they will fatally damage the free and open Internet."

 

 

The president has come out roundly against them as well, and promised a veto:

 

"Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small. Across the globe, the openness of the Internet is increasingly central to innovation in business, government, and society and it must be protected. To minimize this risk, new legislation must be narrowly targeted only at sites beyond the reach of current U.S. law, cover activity clearly prohibited under existing U.S. laws, and be effectively tailored, with strong due process and focused on criminal activity. Any provision covering Internet intermediaries such as online advertising networks, payment processors, or search engines must be transparent and designed to prevent overly broad private rights of action that could encourage unjustified litigation that could discourage startup businesses and innovative firms from growing."