So in case you have been living under a rock and are just hearing about SOPA let me help bring you up to speed. SOPA is an acronym for Stop Online Piracy Act; the proposed bill would hold websites responsible for the actions of their users. Effectively immobilizing the overseas sites that provide pirated material. The problem is that the bill is written in such a way that the terms are very broad and border on censorship. Many of the proponents of this act are the companies with the most to gain by eliminating piracy anyway they can, this includes large companies such as Paramount, and Time Warner. These companies have definitely been affected by the loss of revenue from piracy. However does that mean that we should be told where we can go and what we can see on the internet? We all want to stop the piracy of copyrighted materials, however is this the way we should go about it.
Do you want to live in a country that restricts what you can see and where you can go on the internet. Opponents of this act claim that this is the very nature of this act, and that even though it may not intended to censor the American public in actuality that is exactly what it would do. Tech companies such as Google, and social sites such as Facebook are opposing the act on that basis. In my opinion, we must find a way to limit the piracy without jeopardizing the companies in the US, which cannot control the actions of their users. This is similar to prosecuting a car dealer if the owner of the car decides to go out and use the car in the commission of a crime. Are we going to hold all carmakers and dealers responsible? No, what we would do is write a law that would be precise in action, and that is what needs to happen here. I welcome all opinions on the matter the only way we can change things is to start a dialogue.
References
http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/17/technology/sopa_explained/index.htm
Real Time with Bill Maher
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7bIDBD6eus
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