By Austin King<\/p>\n
Both the Senate and the House have proposed separate pieces of legislation they say is designed to fight online piracy, but after a close look at the bills, the propaganda just doesn\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n
The Stop Internet Piracy Act, or SOPA, and the Protect IP Act, PIPA, would give the government broad powers to censor the web and is defining moment in the fight for a free and open internet.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s internet firewall provides great insight into what can happen when a government takes control of the web. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and even the popular file-storing website Dropbox are all inaccessible in China.<\/p>\n
The Chinese government acts as an overseer of information and determines what the people should be allowed to read or watch. It might seem unlikely that this type of filtering could happen in the United States, but this legislation would give our government similar power.<\/p>\n
At this time, internet companies against the SOPA bill include notables like Facebook, eBay, AOL, Yahoo, Twitter, Craigslist and many others. These companies aren\u2019t pro-piracy, they just understand the danger that vague and overreaching legislation poses to the internet as we know it.<\/p>\n
Senator Marco Rubio recently withdrew as a co-sponsor of Protect IP , while Reps. Lee Terry and Ben Quayle were removing themselves from the house bill SOPA. This is due to increasing pressure from citizens and tech-giants alike, but the fight is not over.<\/p>\n
SOPA and PIPA are hot topic issues right now, and the recording industry and movie industry are facing backlash much stronger than anticipated, but they can wait.<\/p>\n
Once the hubbub has died down, a new version of \u201canti-piracy\u201d legislation will be proposed, and they will catch you just as your apathy returns.<\/p>\n
When you access the internet, you enter a world where information is free, where knowledge is a mouse click away — don\u2019t let our government change that. Make time to use your voice, otherwise you might wake up and find it censored.<\/p>\n
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By Austin King Both the Senate and the House have proposed separate pieces of legislation they say is designed to fight online piracy, but after a close look at the bills, the propaganda just doesn\u2019t add up. The Stop Internet Piracy Act, or SOPA, and the Protect IP Act, PIPA, Continue reading Anti-piracy legislation threatens the freedom of information<\/span>