Each one of us is an agent of change. Whether you believe this or not, it is truth.
Tomorrow, January 18, 2012, a significant number of websites on the Internet will be going dark to protest the proposed SOPA/PIPA legislation (H.R. 3621) that the US Senate reportedly is bringing to the Senate floor for a vote next week. Sites like Wikipedia, Reddit, BiongBoing, TwitPic, Mozilla (Firefox browser creators), and the WordPress blogging site have joined the movement – all planning to go dark tomorrow.
I normally don’t comment much on things in the political arena, rather I pose questions on issues of the day (like how I did with the title of this post) and then present the facts. However recent events in Washington have raised many questions on the agenda of those whom we have elected to represent us.
The father of our country and our first President George Washington said it best:
"If men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."
Even though the Obama administration drew a “line in the sand” this past weekend saying it would oppose PIPA and SOPA as written, emphasizing that it “will not support” any bill “that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.", the fight is still far from over.
As the legislation is currently written, this bill would not only go after websites that allegedly are directly involved in copyright infringement, but it will also allow the government to target sites that simply provide information that could help users get around the bills’ censorship mechanisms. This would not only amount to an unconstitutional restraint against our First Amendment right of protected speech, but would gravely damage online innovation. And contrary to claims by supporters of SOPA/PIPA, this provision—at least what’s been proposed so far—applies to all websites, even those in the U.S.
This would mean social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WordPress’ blogging site, Blogspot/Blogger— any site with user generated content—would have to police their own sites, forcing huge liability costs onto countless Internet companies. This is why venture capitalists across the board have stated they won’t invest in online startups if PIPA and SOPA pass. Websites would be forced to block anything from a user post about browser add-ons like DeSopa that are now available that will circumvent SOPA’s proposed DNS blocking if it passes , to a simple list of IP addresses of already-blocked sites.
Another part of SOPA/PIPA that frightens me is the so-called “vigilante provision”. This provision would grant broad immunity to all Internet service providers (ISPs) if they overblock innocent users or block sites voluntarily with no judicial oversight at all. The potential of abuse of this broad stroke of immunity is off the charts, allowing organizations like the MPAA and the RIAA to create a blacklist of sites they want blocked, forcing ISPs to act and block sites without a court order, thus creating a vehicle for corporations to block entire websites – even those based in the U.S.
Our own U.S. State Department has spoken out against the type of censorship the SOPA/PIPA proposes in its condemnation of countries like China, Egypt and others when they censored the internet in their own countries. Yet it seems Washington is being hypocritical when it comes to our own borders. And people wonder why the majority of the global community looks negatively on us.
Let me be clear, online piracy is a problem that needs to be addressed. However, the broad strokes in the current SOPA/PIPA legislation will only harm the Internet as a whole and damage our constitutional rights. The Internet cannot become a place where human rights, free speech and the rule of law are subordinated solely to the entertainment industry's profits.
I encourage you to write your representatives in Washington and speak out on this issue. SOPA/PIPA in its current form is destructive to our rights as Americans and even more destructive to the economy. Make your voice heard by visiting http://americancensorship.org. I will be participating with others tomorrow with this website being dark from 8AM to 8PM EST.
To quote Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
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