Protests All Across the web
Today a large number of web sites (Big and Small) all across the internet are protesting the SOPA and PIPA bills that are current in the congress of the United States. The protests range from sites like (LINK) Google (https://www NULL.google NULL.com/) who have put a black bar across their name
To sites like (LINK) Wikipedia (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Main_Page), which is going “dark” for 24 hours.
Why these bills are such a concern
The following information comes from the site OpenCongress.org
PROTECT IP Act in the Senate
“Establishes a system for taking down websites that the Justice Department determines to be “dedicated to infringing activities.” The DoJ or the copyright owner would be able to commence a legal action against the alleged infringer and the DoJ would be allowed to demand that search engines, social networking sites and domain name services block access to the targeted site. In some cases, action could be taken to block sites without first allowing the alleged infringer to defend themselves in court”. (From LINK OpenCongress.org (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-s968/show))
Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House
“This bill would establish a system for taking down websites that the Justice Department determines to be dedicated to copyright infringement. The DoJ or the copyright owner would be able to commence a legal action against any site they deem to have “only limited purpose or use other than infringement,” and the DoJ would be allowed to demand that search engines, social networking sites and domain name services block access to the targeted site. It would also make unauthorized web streaming of copyrighted content a felony with a possible penalty up to five years in prison. This bill combines two separate Senate bills — S.968 (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-s968/show) and S.978 (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-s978/show) — into one big House bill”. (From LINK OpenCongress.org (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-h3261/show))
Where can you get more information about these 2 bills
(LINKS)
- 100 Law Professors oppose Protect IP Act (http://freedomforip NULL.org/2011/07/06/100-law-professors-oppose-protect-ip-act/) – From Freedom for IP (Freedomforip.org)
- Act Now : This Bill Seriously Screws with the Internet (http://www NULL.publicknowledge NULL.org/e-parasite-stop-online-piracy-act) (SOPA) – From Public Knowledge (Publicknowledge.org)
- H.R.3261 – Stop Online Piracy Act (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-h3261/show) – From Open Congress (OpenCongress.org)
- S.968 – PROTECT IP Act of 2011 (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-s968/show) – From Open Congress (OpenCongress.org)
- Stop the Internet Blacklist Legislation (https://wfc2 NULL.wiredforchange NULL.com/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173) – From the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF.org)
- What is Protect IP and SOPA (http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VxPQ320jBLc) (Video) – From Lockergnome (On YouTube)
- End Piracy, Not Liberty (https://www NULL.google NULL.com/landing/takeaction/) – From Google
Getting in touch with your Representatives in Congress
If you visit a site like (LINK) Project VoteSmart (http://votesmart NULL.org/) and enter your address on the top right,
you can get a list of information from the President to your local ballot measures.
If you click on the + next to Congressional (or whichever area interests you), you will get information like Office, First Election, Next Election, and Most Importantly Contact Information.
If you disagree with these bills and want to protect your freedom of speech, please contact your local Representatives in Congress and let them know that they need to vote against these bills if they want your vote in the next election.