Monday, December 19, 2011

Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/

Above is a video explaining this bill. There's not much I can say there that the video doesn't cover. Its pretty simple to understand and also tells of the dangers that this bill poses to websites that are widely used today (eg. facebook, youtube, spotify, etc.) Anything that contains content under copyright is going to be shut down and taken down.

Does this violate any of our constitutional rights? Should the government be allowed to pass something like this?

Below is a two part video by Colbert elaborating on this bill as well. He also brings on two experts one for and one against SOPA to talk about their sides of the argument.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/403465/december-01-2011/stop-online-piracy-act?xrs=share_copy

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/403466/december-01-2011/stop-online-piracy-act---danny-goldberg---jonathan-zittrain?xrs=share_copy

7 comments:

Kore Chan said...

I believe that passing a law similar to SOPA would be a good idea to stop online piracy because piracy / torrenting / etc is an issue that deprives certain businesses of their due profits (although the due part could be debatable). However, I agree that the dangers that this particular act poses to FB etc is unacceptable even though there are promises to not act against FB etc. If the government shuts down a social media site just for something that one person posted online, I believe that it would violation of the personal liberty (for others) that the U.S. appears to represent.

Sabrina Imbler said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sabrina Imbler said...

I believe that this online publication I found offers a refreshingly valid perspective on the SOPA bill. Check it out!

http://www.aragonoutlook.net/index.php/editorial-opinion/editorials/sopa-stop-online-piracy-act-is-too-restrictive/

Ivan Wang said...

While the intent is commendable, SOPA is horrendously written, violates First Amendment rights, and has the potential to, well, basically "break the Internet" as we know it. The pros from eliminating piracy are overshadowed by the cons-- from security issues to removal of entire sites and domain names as a result of copyright infringement complaints (in which the accused doesn't even need to be told!)-- and this does not sound like a beneficial move.

The worst part: legislators like Watt from NC are rejecting criticism on the basis that he is not a technological "nerd" and doesn't "believe" the experts. As a member of Watt's stereotypical grouping, I must say I am offended by his intransigence and stupidity.

Sources:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/mythbusters/articles/mythbuster-adam-savage-sopa-could-destroy-the-internet-as-we-know-it-6620300
http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/dont-break-internet
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/12/sopa-stalls/

KennyL said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WJIuYgIvKsc

This video honestly says it all. It seems like SOPA and piracy all have been a huge money making scheme for CNET and some other big companies.

Raquel Tenorio said...

As if Congress doesn't have enough power as it is. This bill is just one huge disaster that is going to strip citizens of their rights and give them to Congress so they can regulate them. It doesn't protect against piracy, you could have a bill that was millions of times stricter than this one and people would still find a way around it. No, this bill is going to make it extremely difficult for business and industries online to do anything. Average Americans will be restricted while Congress' power just continues to grow. Not a good bill in my opinion.

Timothy Leung said...

To those who still think piracy is stealing (because the RIAA told you it was): http://i53.tinypic.com/zk04d4.jpg
Hint: its not.

Now, onto SOPA:

Its been introduced by the RIAA: the same association who sued you for dancing to music on Youtube. And they want to stop Torrenting? They can't stop Torrenting themselves.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Even-RIAA-Violates-SOPA-Report-135884908.html

Most of us here are right. If SOPA passes, user-generated content is gone. No internet memes, no Youtube parodies, no internet culture.

SOPA shouldn't pass. I don't think it will pass at all, actually, unless it's lobbied hard. And if it does pass, I don't want to live in this country anymore.