While kudos are due to the many millions of global citizens who loudly protested the proposed SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) legislation, which resulted in the bills being shelved, it is likely that similar bills, with similar restrictions on our freedom to communicate, will come to light after the presidential elections.
“Congressional leaders on Friday indefinitely shelved two antipiracy bills that had rallied the Internet and rocked Capitol Hill, dealing a major defeat to the traditional media industry while emboldening a new breed of online political activists.” San Francisco Chronicle, January 21, 2012
If you are unsure why these bills were so dangerous, please take a moment to watch this Khan Academy video!
But many Internet companies, including Google, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit, saw the bills as a threat, and said they would stifle creativity on the Internet while forcing search engines and social media to become police officers for the Justice Department. San Francisco Chronicle, January 21, 2012
Make no mistake, while there is a need to protect intellectual property, these bills as written are so draconian that any of us could be arrested for copyright violation just by writing a blog post. It’s extremely important that all of us pay attention to this critical issue – the freedom of the internet itself is at stake!
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