It’s an act of the US Congress that just won’t go away (actually there’s two of them and more coming in all probability). Its detractors are being touted as unpatriotic and un-American, as though they are supporting piracy and copyright infringement. Yet the reality is no where near as innocent as supporters like MPAA boss Chris Dodd and Senator Smith are claiming.
I’ve been talking consistently about the potential it has to kill the Internet, and my voice is joined by millions. Look at the Avaaz.org global petition to Save the Internet: over 1 million protesters and still growing. And it’s not alone as there are numerous petitions in the US, like the americancensorship.org petition that is showing in my right sidebar, the stopcensorship.org petition with Senator Wyden, and the continuous flow of information from groups like EFF.
This week is critical to get your voices out there because word is that a vote is being pushed on Thursday, even with all of the vehement opposition. Congress doesn’t want to hear or understand the realities of what dangerous and draconian bills like SOPA and Protect IP will do to our most vital democratic arena: the Internet. They’re too busy kissing the asses of their financial contributors. The same contributors who support SOPA and Protect IP.
No one is saying that piracy and copyright infringement are OK, but everyone is saying that the global human rights are more important than actual economics. Especially when those economics are so flawed that we are staring continuous global financial meltdown threats on a daily basis. Those who make business and legal decisions need to understand that the world is not there to play at their beck and call. Your institutions need to be fixed before we’re willing to listen to your words. You’ve all shown that you lack the morality to play with the rest of mankind. Since SOPA and Protect IP won’t go away, it looks like we’re going to have to yell even louder until we make them go away.
There’s already another option forwarded by Senators Wyden and Issa known as the OPEN Act. Yet the SOPA/Protect IP supporters have rejected it without any consideration because it takes away the tools that Congressional financial contributors want so that they can gain firm control of the Internet as their globabl financial tool. The world is standing in their way, and we’re not moving until these types of laws are removed from the playing field forever.
Latest news on SOPA and Protect IP:
- The OPEN Act – add your comments now – they’re waiting to hear from us
- EFF’s coverage of the OPEN Act
- Congressional Staffers Behind SOPA get new jobs as lobbyists
- Techdirt’s coverage of the OPEN Act
- Techdirt’s coverage of constitutional scrutiny of SOPA & Protect IP
- Techdirt’s coverage of ICE censorship of blog for over a year – here and here
- Tech visionaries blast SOPA
- Louis C.K. releases new special free of DRM and people are responding with direct purchases – AWESOME lesson
It might be worth it to note that the EU has enacted legislation to disallow the types of actions (censorship, surveillance (2), and seizures) that the US government is trying to make legal (and even doing outside of the law). And the EU is doing much more than just looking at the legality issues, because they’re also moving to keep the Internet free.
The question we need to ask ourselves is: Who exactly is in charge of our government? It sure isn’t the people when you look around at what they are enduring at the hands of the police and the law. SOPA and Protect IP won’t go away unless WE make it happen. Make sure your voices are heard this week, before we’re faced with a reality where the Internet is really broken. Congress has already approved the NDAA into law, and people are already afraid of what that will mean to American citizens. These times are truly frightening as those in charge are not working with open minds. Freedom is never guaranteed, and it’s time that we stand up for ours NOW.
