The end of Facebook, Youtube, Twitter…all with one bill SOPA
Melissa Jensen
It should be abundantly clear to anyone that, generally speaking, politicians don’t know a whole lot about technology.
You may have heard in the news about SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act or H.R. 3261) but it can be really confusing. You may not understand how it affects you, well.. if you enjoy the babies dancing to Beyoncé on YouTube, posting your favorite music on Facebook, quoting songs or books or music lyrics on Facebook, posting links on Twitter or just enjoying any of these sites you really need to pay attention. Oh……and if you enjoy any blog in particular who may have used a picture without first obtaining permission from the artist or producer.
While I don’t have a problem with people wanting to protect their intellectual property this bill goes way too far. There is no due process before a website is essentially shut down. All that needs to happen is that they have to be accused and there is very little recourse for a website that has been wrongly accused. Really….do we want the government to be able to shut down a website just because someone accuses them of copyright infringement. Is the ability to essentially create a blacklist and shut down sites at will worth it because a multimillionaire artist supposedly didn’t get their cut. The money is on the side of the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) who have paid millions to lobby congress while Google, Twitter, Facebook, the entire internet community has paid only a fraction of this. Wanna know how a bill becomes law…follow the money.
I do agree that piracy needs to be dealt with, but the fact is that as soon as you pass this bill another way to share will be found. Taking aggressive action that hurts free speech, infringes on due process and really hurts the little guy more than the giants isn’t the way to deal with the problem. Plus there is something fishy about a hearing on the matter when 4 out of 5 people testifying are for the bill.
Companies against this bill: Google, Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Yahoo, Mozilla, AOL, LinkedIn. For more information check here, and for goodness sake pass on the information and write or call your congressman and tell them to KILL SOPA!!!!
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Melissa Jensen
Melissa is a native of the Greater St. Louis region. She is addicted to anything Google, and cannot understand why motion activated paper towel dispensers never see her hands.
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