SOPA Bill Creates Protests Online

January 18 is a date that will live in ignorance, as many websites including Wikipedia, Google and Reddit started a 24-hour blackout, joining other sites in protesting pending U.S. legislation aimed at shutting down sites that share pirated movies and other content.

The legislation has been a major priority for entertainment companies, publishers, pharmaceutical companies and many industry groups. They maintain the proposed law is critical to curbing online piracy they say costs them billions of dollars annually.

Internet companies are concerned that the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate, if passed, could be used to target legitimate sites like USENET, where users share content.

There are many reasons to dislike Sopa and Pipa, the pair of internet censorship bills working their way through the US Congress. They are examples of the influence of corporate money on American politics: US media firms have cumulatively donated tens of millions of dollars to the bills’ authors. They are (another) example of representatives refusal to represent the public: they tried to rush the bills through at the end of last year, with no public consultation. And the proposed technical solution – censorship enforced through the domain name system – would not have the effect they want it to have, but its technical side-effects would break important parts of the internet and USENET.

But finding common ground is more difficult in this case than in most intra-corporate squabbles, because the two sides — or powerful elements within them, at least — have largely irreconcilable world views. One senior Senate aide said that the technology side consistently refuses to specify precise changes they want to the bill. Indeed, improving the bill would be counterproductive if the ultimate goal is killing it outright — which it certainly is for many elements of the anti-SOPA coalition.

The shutdown adds to a very vocal body of critics who are speaking out against the legislation. But the bill’s many supporters — including the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and News Corp. — argue that those critics simply misunderstand the bill.

Though the Stop Online Piracy Act has the support from the likes of Hollywood, the music industry, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, many Silicon Valley firms say it effectively amounts to censorship.

Some might call these protests a great example of grass roots democracy in action. The MPAAcalls them a “gimmick… designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals.”

If SOPA passes, copyright holders would be able to complain to law enforcement officials and get websites shut down. Search engines and other providers would have to block rogue sites when ordered to do so by a judge. Sites could be punished for hosting pirated content — and Internet companies are worried they could be held liable for users’ actions.

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From: http://www.newsdemon.com/blog/sopa-bill-creates-protests-online/