You might notice some changes around your internet today. Some major websites like Wikipedia and Reddit will go black today. Others, like Google, will have special content. Even the Honey Badger is getting involved. The reason for this is the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill making its way through congress that will drastically affect the way your internet works.
What is SOPA?
SOPA is a law designed to combat copyright infringement. The legislation will allow the US Justice Department to shut down any website that is suspected of violating copyright laws. However, the law goes further in that it can also require advertisers, internet service providers, and online payment facilitators (like PayPal) to stop doing business with sites that US authorities designate as violators. The law can also require search engine not to link to blacklisted sites and makes unauthorized streaming of copyrighted material a criminal offense that can carry a five year prison sentence. Finally, the bill protects ISPs and ad networks from any liability whatsoever if they voluntarily shut down a site accused of copyright infringement and this does not require a court order.
How Can SOPA Change the Internet?
SOPA has far reaching implications for web publishers and their readers. First, the bill’s “vigilante provision” that protects ISPs from liability, allows for the black listing of web sites without any due process. This is a situation ripe for abuse. For example, imagine if Google just elects to delist every video site on the web except its own (YouTube) in an effort to avoid dealing with potential copyright infringement. Note: Google has come out strongly against SOPA, this is merely an example.
Additionally, web site owners who host user generated content would be liable for content posted by their readers. Bots would now be responsible for all those cat videos that you post in the Open Thread. Social media sites like Twitter and FaceBook would face an enormous burden of tryng to police every single account for an authorized posting of that Rebecca Black song, and if they were unsuccessful, they could essentially be banned from the internet.
SOPA may also lead to bans on tools that activists and political dissidents use to spread their messages and protect themselves. The use of internet tools like TOR (a proxy system) and Bit Torrent (file sharing software) could be made illegal under the bill because it can be used to violate copyright laws. Political dissidents all over the world use these things to protect their identities and to spread information that is often to dangerous to transmit over regular websites. SOPA may make it much more difficult for us to identify and battle injustice.
Finally, SOPA is an inappropriate tool to deal with online piracy. This law is like putting a tack in the wall with a sledge hammer. SOPA does not remove just the offending content from a website, it removes all content from a site. It also denies accused parties of due process by allowing a shut down with or without any conviction of a crime. It can rob people of their livelihoods with a simple accusation, and allows for no compensation if an accusation was false.
Holy Shit! What do we do?
- Call or email you congressional representative today! Yes, today. People from all over the nation will be doing the same, and it is important that they see a lot of opposition to this. Here, the Electronic Freedom Foundation makes it really easy for you.
- Educate yourself about the mechanics of the legislation. You are all citizens of the internet and this law is a danger to many of the sites you use every day. Check out this amazing graphic that makes understanding SOPA easy.
- Spread the word. Use your social networks to make sure that everyone knows about this issue.
The Stop Online Piracy Act is hostile to American values of free expression and fair play. I don’t think we here at Crasstalk have ever asked you to directly support a political cause, but this legislation is extremely important. For smaller websites like ours, this law could wipe us out of business. FaceBook and YouTube can spend millions of dollars to defend themselves from the law; but we cannot. Please join us in opposing SOPA.
Update: The bill numbers are H.R. 3261 (in the House) and S.968 (in the Senate). Use those reference numbers when you contact your Reps.
Also, here is a really handy video that explains the issue. You can send it to your Mom so she understands what you are carrying on about.
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.
