Stand Against SOPA and PIPA

John R. Houk

January 18, 2012

I received this email from Mozilla today:

Why is the Internet on strike today?

Firefox and You

From Mozilla, a non-profit organization and developer of Firefox

Today, Mozilla is joining the virtual strike against Internet censorship – along with others like Wikipedia and Google – to raise awareness of US Congress legislation that could fundamentally alter the Internet we know and love.

This harmful legislation, called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate, will be voted on as early as January 24th in the Senate.

If you live in the US, there's still time to help stop these bills from becoming law. Please visit mozilla.org/sopa for information on the bill, and on ways you can reach out to your senators.

What makes this legislation so bad? Here's how it would change the Web:

·         Communication platforms – from YouTube to Facebook to Amazon – could be shut down if a single rights holder alleges a violation.

·         It would make the Web less stable and less secure.

·         Social networking sites, like Twitter or Facebook, could be forced to track and control user behavior, stunting innovation and undermining free expression.

·         Your Internet provider could be required to inspect all of your traffic and browsing.

Visit mozilla.org/sopa right now for information – and make your voice heard before it's too late.

Please join today's strike, and help protect the Internet.

Sincerely,

Jane & Winston
Editors

Help spread the word

This is an egregious moment of infringing on Free Speech. Apparently these Senate and House Bills had broad bipartisan support in Congress. Thanks to the money of unlikely heroes of some Internet Media giants such as Google, Wikipedia, YouTube and others; Congressional support has began to wane. This is particularly the case among Republicans that have been educated on the theft of Liberty these two Bills represent in the use of their constituents of the Internet.

Be sure to follow those links provided in the Mozilla email I received. Nonetheless you need to check out the particulars of SOPA and PIPA from Google.

JRH 1/18/12

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End Piracy, Not Liberty

More about SOPA and PIPA

By Google

Members of Congress are trying to do the right thing by going after pirates and counterfeiters but SOPA and PIPA are the wrong way to do it.

1. SOPA and PIPA would censor the Web

The U.S. government could order the blocking of sites using methods similar to those employed by China. Among other things, search engines could be forced to delete entire websites from their search results. That’s why 41 human rights organizations and 110 prominent law professors have expressed grave concerns about the bills.

2. SOPA and PIPA would be job-killers because they would create a new era of uncertainty for American business

Law-abiding U.S. internet companies would have to monitor everything users link to or upload or face the risk of time-consuming litigation. That’s why AOL, EBay, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo and Zynga wrote a letter to Congress saying these bills “pose a serious risk to our industry’s continued track record of innovation and job-creation.” It’s also why 55 of America’s most successful venture capitalists expressed concern that PIPA “would stifle investment in Internet services, throttle innovation, and hurt American competitiveness”. More than 204 entrepreneurs told Congress that PIPA and SOPA would “hurt economic growth and chill innovation”.

3. SOPA and PIPA wouldn’t stop piracy

To make matters worse, SOPA and PIPA won’t even work. The censorship regulations written into these bills won’t shut down pirate sites. These sites will just change their addresses and continue their criminal activities, while law-abiding companies will suffer high penalties for breaches they can’t possibly control.

There are effective ways to combat foreign “rogue” websites dedicated to copyright infringement and trademark counterfeiting, while preserving the innovation and dynamism that have made the Internet such an important driver of American economic growth and job creation. Congress should consider alternatives like the OPEN Act, which takes targeted and focused steps to cut off the money supply from foreign pirate sites without making US companies censor the Web.

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Stand Against SOPA and PIPA

John R. Houk

January 18, 2012

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End Piracy, Not Liberty

© Google