So, there's this American bill going around called SOPA. If you haven't heard of it, you're probably living under a rock - I'll expain it anyways though. SOPA stands for 'Stop Online Piracy Act'. This is a bill being passed around through the US House of Representatives that is basically going to bring online censorship into a federal US law. Theoretically any holder of intellectual property rights could simply send a letter to ad network operators like Google and to payment processors like MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal, demanding these companies cut off access to any site the IP holder names as an infringer.
So according to the government the main issue is piracy, and more specifically 'rogue' websites. The thing is it really isn't an enforcement problem or a legal problem. Decades of evidence from around the globe all show the same thing: making copyright law or enforcement stricter does not work. The real issue is that this is a business model problem. We see time and time again that those who understand and welcome all that the internet has to offer have found themselves much better off than before, with the ability to build up a much larger fanbase and to use new and unique platforms and services to generate broader revenue.
The best way to decrease infringement is to offer new, innovative and awesome services that are convenient and have use. Constantly improving consumer experience is key. With this you can easily compete with 'free'. If more were able to without restriction, infringement would decrease. If you look at the two largest contributors to holding back "piracy" lately, it's been Netflix and Spotify. Those two services alone have been orders of magnitude more successful in decreasing infringement than any new copyright law. Because they compete by being more convenient and a better experience than infringement.
So SOPA really isn't going to help with piracy. What it will do is shut down sites that we all know and love, including YouTube and PhotoBucket and even BuyPoe - any site where users post copyrighted material and other people decide to take action against it. SOPA will put a massive damper on innovation and freedom of speech as we know it and the worst part is that the people in power who are debating it hardly know a thing about the internet - it's like putting toddlers at the controls of every aircraft in the US. Even if you live outside of the US SOPA is going to affect you if you frequent the online realms.
If you would like to help fight against SOPA, there's a site for you - Stop American Censorship. Even if you live outside of the US all you really have to do is sign one of several petitions worldwide. Together we can save the internet. Play us out, Cynical Brit.
EDIT: PROTECT-IP (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act) or PIPA is back again, and it's going hand-in-hand with SOPA. Jeez, what next America?
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There is no way this will become a big problem. Blocking sites intended for piracy is fine by me. That helps the economy, but blocking every website that allows uploading will cause a worldwide outrage.
Even if it happens, it won't be in effect for long. I think our government has enough sense to realize how bad it can be to the people.
I myself am not American so I cannot say anything about your government as a whole, however I've been following the topic for quite some time and it's getting rather serious. And if I didn't make myself clear enough, this isn't just blocking sites intended for piracy. It's about blocking ANY website that has any sort of copyrighted material on it. It isn't anti-piracy, it's corporate censorship.Originally Posted by wastedbro
Like I said, I don't think it will get/stay serious for long. Almost any website that allows people to upload or post content would be shut down. I just can't see our government keeping that in place while the entire country protests.
Hardly anyone knows about it though, as per usual it's being largely hidden from the public. Ironically the only places you can get good information about it from are the websites they're seeking to destroy with this act.
Well it's going to be spread fast, especially if it affects everyone personally. If Facebook alone gets blocked, you have hundreds of thousands of protesters right there.
If government wants any public support, they won't keep this up for long, assuming it's put into place.
The problem is, as TB explains, that the US government don't know how the internet works and they have only heard the lobbiest side of the bill. Stop the piracy by blocking sites. But SOPA and PIPA combined will signal dictatorship of the internet. It will also cause an economical crisis as companies would be scared to start new Business' on the internet. Bigger sites like Facebook, Youtube and even Google will be directly affected as they index copyright material from their users all the time!
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Saw PhillyD do a show on this a while back, definitely something to be concerned about. Im kind of along side wastedbro with this in that its so absolutely ridiculous that I dont think it will pass. But its still important to make sure you show your distaste for it, I actually did send my states Representative a message about my views and why this should not be supported. Granted I received the standard automated response you get from anyone in a public office and it probably never was read by them, but it doesnt hurt a bit to try.
Heh, if this goes out, youtube and social websites are done for. Seems more like an attempt to quarantine information that gets spread around like wildfire on the massive world wibe web that could potentially "hurt" them. Control, control and control.
Makes me really glad I'm not American. [/racism]
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