Oppose Internet Blacklisting, SOPA & PIPA

[Intrepidation]

Don’t Let Congress Censor the Internet

Some of the worst legislation we’ve ever seen is currently before Congress. Three pieces of legislation' date=' H.R. 3261 in the House of Representatives and S. 968 and S. 978 in the Senate, would cripple the internet by stripping your due process rights and making everyday users wary that the next thing you post might get you sued or thrown in jail. Here’s what the legislation does:

It strips current laws by now making internet companies, which used to be immune, liable for their users’ communications. This means that Facebook, Youtube, Wordpress, Google and more are now on the hook for what you post.

It gives the US Attorney General, with court order, the power to seize websites that possibly infringe or partially infringe copyright. There would be no due process and no chance to defend yourself before the seizure. The mere accusation can get a website taken away.

It violates Net Neutrality by ordering internet providers, advertising companies and payment systems to block accused websites with technology that just doesn’t exist.

It threatens users by imposing fines or jail time for posting even derivatives of copywrited work(s). A video of your karaoke, playing the piano, video game speed trial would now all be punishable if a copyright holder decides to enforce it.

[url']http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111005/10082416208/monster-cable-claims-ebay-craigslist-costco-sears-are-rogue-sites.shtml[/url]

Some Great Info on SOPA, and some great congressional emailers:

http://www.craigslist.org/about/SOPA

If your too lazy here is the link to an emailer:

http://action.theeca.com/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5006

[Turbojett]

doesn't this violate the first amendment?

oh right. $h! like that hasn't mattered since the Bush Administration.

[Drew Dowdell]

email sent

this DIRECTLY effects the future of Cheers and Gears.

[Hudson]

Wikipedia:

"On January 14, 2012, the Obama administration responded to a petition against the bill, stating that it would not support legislation with provisions that could lead to Internet censorship, squelching of innovation, or reduced Internet security, but encouraged "all sides to work together to pass sound legislation this year that provides prosecutors and rights holders new legal tools to combat online piracy originating beyond U.S. borders while staying true to the principles outlined above in this response.""

"On January 15, 2011, the New York Times reported that the House SOPA bill "would not come up for a vote" until a "consensus" could be reached."

[Drew Dowdell]

It's not dead yet.... it's just resting.

[FAPTurbo]

The recording/media industries already have the DMCA to go after offenders. All SOPA and PIPA do is give them the tools to squash legitimate competition.

[G. David Felt]

We need to kill this, this is NOT GOOD for america or for freedom and competition.

[Blake Noble]

You know, I think it would be a good idea for everyone to remember at least some of the names of the representatives who still support SOPA and PIPA and make damn sure to never vote them back into power.

They are all corrupted politicians and their continued support shows that they only listen to their wallets, not the American individual.

Edited January 18, 2012 by black-knight

[Drew Dowdell]

Just a reminder to email your representatives today

[Camino LS6]

Done.

I do have reservations as intellectual property rights are being trampled, but this bill trouncing civil liberties isn't the way to fix that!

Remember though, this is the same group of ass-clowns that passed the NDAA - civil liberties are just a complication to them rather than the public trust they ought to be.

[Drew Dowdell]

While it is a problem, these bills amounted to seizure without due process. The AG of Pennsylvania could seize the C&G doman on a CLAIM of copyright infringment and shut us down until it was resolved in court.... effectively killing the website.

[Robert Hall]

DMCA, SOPA, PIPA are tools to support the obsolete 20th century business models of the recording/media industries..they need to evolve for the internet era without legislative nonsense or go out of business.

Edited January 18, 2012 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Intrepidation]

Several website have gone dark today in protest, including Wikipedia, Mojang, and Reddit.

[Robert Hall]

Several website have gone dark today in protest, including Wikipedia, Mojang, and Reddit.

And Google has placed a black bar over it's homepage doodle...

[Justin Bimmer]

all the Cheezeburger sites have a redirect before going to their FAIL and Memebase etc sites.

[Turbojett]

I signed the google petition. I'll be e-mailing my congresspeeps later.

"I am your constituent! YOU WORK FOR ME!"

[§carlet §wordfish]

DMCA, SOPA, PIPA are tools to support the obsolete 20th century business models of the recording/media industries..they need to evolve for the internet era without legislative nonsense or go out of business.

This. The entire entertainment industry the world over needs to be rebuilt from the ground up in an entirely different paradigm.

[loki]

any of you follow postsecret? "Under SOPA, you could get 5 years for uploading a Michael Jackson song, one year more than the doctor who killed him."

[67impss]

Assinine just assinine (sp on purpose)

[Hudson]

They are all corrupted politicians and their continued support shows that they only listen to their wallets, not the American individual.

As much as I might agree with the above statement, these bills show a lack of INTELLIGENCE, not the measure of their corruptability.

[67impss]

It did come from the Government errrrrrr their lobbyists

[Intrepidation]

It looks like the message may have gotten through to the thick skulls of those in Washington. The people and websites who flexed their muscles and took a stand against SOPA and PIPA should give themselves a brief pat on the back.

http://news.yahoo.com/blackouts-whats-next-sopa-155000746.html

[SAmadei]

The problem is that this legislation WILL continue to return in different/diluted forms until it passes quietly while people are gearing up for the iPhone 5, Xbox720, PS4 or something.

The way politics seems to work nowadays is like trying to sneakily boil a frog. Throw him in boiling water, and he'll jump out... but put him in cool water and slowly turn the heat up and he'll stay put until he cooks.

I know it will return because we are forcing things like DMCA, ACTA, and preemptively SOPA and PIPA on our trade partners and allies.

[Turbojett]

DMCA, SOPA, PIPA are tools to support the obsolete 20th century business models of the recording/media industries..they need to evolve for the internet era without legislative nonsense or go out of business.

This. The entire entertainment industry the world over needs to be rebuilt from the ground up in an entirely different paradigm.

Quoted (both) for truth.

Edited January 20, 2012 by Turbojett

[daves87rs]

They are all corrupted politicians and their continued support shows that they only listen to their wallets, not the American individual.

As much as I might agree with the above statement, these bills show a lack of INTELLIGENCE, not the measure of their corruptability.

+1