The U.S. House of Representatives will be debating the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill that intends to protect copyright holders and increase the powers of law enforcement in the digital environment. While this concept sounds fair and even justifiable at a basic level, the act, if passed, could deal a serious blow to free speech, changing the face of the Internet as we know it.
This bill, according to an article by Time, will allow those claiming infringement to receive a court order for the site hosting the content to become blocked by Domain Name Service (DNS) providers.
That ability, coupled with an overtly broad and simplified definition and explanation of what infringement can be classified as, could leave this country and the rest of the world highly vulnerable. SOPA and its Senate equivalent, the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), have been welcomed with open arms by many major companies and organizations including CBS, ABC, Disney, the MPAA, Sony, Pfizer and countless others. Congress, along with the aforementioned organizations, is acting as an ignorant and neglectful shepherd, allowing these wolves in sheep’s clothing, SOPA and PIPA, onto the farm where our free speech exists in ignorant bliss, unaware of its impending doom.
Still though, the Senate and House of Representatives blunder forward, attempting to pass bills that Google co-founder Sergey Brin calls “measures that would put us on par with the most oppressive nations in the world. SOPA and PIPA pose a threat not only to free speech, but to e-commerce, open source software and all-around Internet usage. The language in these bills is so broad, so expansive that the aftermath could leave the Internet a broken, forgotten digital wasteland, stifled by lawmakers attempting, in some misguided way, to protect it.
Everyone in the world could be affected by the passing of the bills. Sites such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, could all be affected. These staples of the Internet that are used all over the globe, particularly YouTube, have the possibility for copyrighted content to be shared by others besides the original owner.
The sad truth is that these bills have received little to no media coverage from major organizations like NBC, CBS, ABC or other broadcasters. Whether they choose not to cover it because they support it or because they feel it unnecessary, this seems a grave mistake. To be honest, I can respect where Congress is coming from. Piracy is a problem, anyone who generates information goods, from e-books to video games, can tell you that.
I’m positive that many of us are guilty of downloading a song here, a movie there. Piracy should be stopped, no doubt, but Congress can never hope to simply pass a bill and see the problem stop.
Piracy is not a problem you can stop with a bill like this. It is already illegal and yet millions of illegal downloads occur every day. Even with colossal fines placed on those that are made to be examples-metaphorical heads on pikes-piracy still continues and grows, adapting and advancing in the face of resistance and regulation.
Rather than spending time, money and brain power on concocting far-reaching legislation such as SOPA and PIPA and dragging the Internet down with them, companies supporting the act should be developing incentives to discourage people from piracy.
By making purchasing digital media easy, simple and less expensive, they may yet win over those that would tend to take to the high seas for their media.
Regardless of what is done, SOPA and PIPA must come to the forefront of the American consciousness. Read about the bills, find out what they could do to the Internet and make an informed decision about the bill.
If, like me, others see the bills as threats to the Internet as a whole and to our right to free speech, take action. Sign a petition, write to a congressman and, above all, make the American people’s voices heard.
