Sopa: the Internet Blacklist Bill

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SOPA: THE INTERNET BLACKLIST BILL The Global Intellectual Property Center reported the sale of counterfeit goods over the internet reached $135 billion last year. In response to these internet crimes, The Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act legislation have been developed. While this legislation may sound like it will something mildly positive but in reality, both regulations have serious potential to negatively change the internet as we know it. Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill in the House of Representatives • Designed to block access to sites containing unauthorized copyright material. • Content owners and U.S. government would be given power to request court orders to shut down suspected sites associated with piracy • Government and cop rotations could block any site, foreign or domestic, for just one infringing link. Consequences • Block access to infringing domains by suing to have links removed. • Advertisers, payment processors, and internet service providers would be forbidden from doing business with infringers based overseas. • Requires search engines to remove foreign infringing sites from their results. • Email providers may be forced to censor certain links you send or receive. • Anyone found guilty of streaming copyrighted content without permission 10 or more times within six months could face up to 5 years in jail. • These acts could threaten the security and stability of the global DNS. Watch an explanation of Supporters include Read the Critics include Google, both sides of the SOPA television networks, music House of Facebook, Twitter, argument, in the video publishers, movie industry Representatives yahoo, eBay, LinkedIn, created by the Guardian in bodies, book publishers Bill 3261. AOL, Zynga. America interactive team. and manufacturers. The White House criticizes the bill in a statement saying “Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small” and “We must avoid creating new cyber security risks or disruption the underlying architecture of the Internet”. List of major participants of January 18th website blacked out in protest of SOPA: • Wikipedia • Hacktivist group, Anonymous • Reddit • Major League Gaming • Wordpress for Business Websites • The Economic Populist • Political Buddies • Blue Interactive Agency • Good Evening • See more here • Twitpic – censored versions SOPA: THE INTERNET BLACKLIST BILL How you can participate: • Call your Congressman or write them a letter letting them know you oppose PIPA and SOPA. • Blackout your website and include this .PDF ﬁle that explains the act and your support. • Join the Facebook “Stop Internet Censorship by Protesting SOPA event” • Wordpress users can add SOPA Blackout plugin, which adds a temporary 503 status and customizable page to your site automatically • Blogspot users can utilize a blackout template to show their support. .

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(US Innovation) Online Piracy Act of 2011
Insight Stop (U.S. Innovation) Online Piracy Act of 2011: OCTOBER 27, 2011 Yesterday the text for the Stop Online Piracy Act of 2011 was released, instantly causing an enormous, justified, uproar from online communities globally. If passed, this bill threatens to suffocate US innovation in technology, jeopardize the free flow of information online, and create further capital uncertainty for the our most innovative domestic companies. Bill Overview The bill is headed for the House of Representatives now to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee on November 16th. The authors, Representatives Lamar Smith (R-TX), John Conyers (D-MI), Bob Goodlatte (R- VA), and Howard Berman (D-CA) intended for the Stop Online Piracy Act to increase the government’s ability to disable websites deemed “foreign infringing sites.” A foreign infringing site is any “US Directed Site” that actively breaks the terms of a US law, agreement, or copyright. While this bill targets foreign sites, it applies to all sites that are “US Directed,” in other words, any site that provides content accessable by a US consumer. Net Neutrality: Enabling a Free Exchange of Information Net neutrality, in the simplest form, prohibits Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from restricting consumer’s access to information on the Internet based on content. This means that ISPs cannot block information, leaving consumers free to make informed decisions about their own online usage. While net neutrality only covers lawful content, the threat posed by the Stop Online Piracy Act is contained in a clause that allows immunity for any ISPs, search engines, domain registries, or similar gatekeepers with reasonable belief that the content is a foreign infringing site Enabling “Reasonable Doubt” as a Competitive Tool The online space is ripe for innovation because information is easily accessable and the barriers to entry are low.
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November 15, 2011 Hon. Patrick Leahy, Chairman Hon. Chuck
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One World LED, Pty, LTD
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The Gettysburg Project
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Congressional Record—Senate S8632
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