(https://wfc2 NULL.wiredforchange NULL.com/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173)  (Banner from EFF.org (https://www NULL.eff NULL.org/))

Tech Geek and More does not usually take a political stance as that is NOT the goal of this site. With that being said, there currently is a pair of bills in Congress that are SO SCARY that TGM feels that it has to get politically involved in this case.

***Update 11/23 -

Senator Wyden (D – Oregon) who is a steadfast opponent of the Protect IP bill. He has agreed to try and block any vote on the bill by filibustering it if it comes up for a vote.

“Sometimes filibusters last hours – or days – leaving Senators reading out of the dictionary or cookbooks to pass the time.”

‘Sen. Wyden agreed to read censorship opponents’ names from the floor of the Senate, and to try to enter the rest into the Congressional Record.”

You can visit (LINK) Stopcensorship.org (http://stopcensorship NULL.org/?referring_akid= NULL.1521576 NULL.GByv-v&source=typ-tw) to add your name to the list.

**Nov 21st Post -

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))

What’s So Scary about the bills

1. DoJ or the copyright owner would be allowed to demand that search engines, social networking sites and domain name services block access to the targeted site
   • domain name services (DNS) record numbers. Tech Geek and More is known as 69.89.25.196 to the DNS services.  Tech Geek and More is hosted on a shared service, which means that it is not the only website on that numeric sequence.  As of this writing, there are more than 900 sites (of which there are only 2 other sites of the 900 that TGM has any involvement with)  that are all hosted on that same numerical address.  These bills do not say that they will contact the host about a site, they say that the DOJ will be “allowed to demand that search engines, social networking sites and domain name services block access to the targeted site”, which means without warning one day my site could go away simply as collateral damage without any notice.  Even if my site had nothing to do with the offending site.  Its not like that hasn’t happened before, (LINK) from Gizmodo (http://gizmodo NULL.com/5762161/feds-accidentally-shut-down-84000-websites-over-wrongful-kiddie-porn-accusation), a “crackdown by the Department of Homeland Security takes down 84,000 innocent websites”.
2. Another part of the bills, “In some cases, action could be taken to block sites without first allowing the alleged infringer to defend themselves in court”.
   • Since when has it been ok to charged and NOT be allowed to defend ourselves.  What happened to “Innocent until proven guilty”.
3. Lastly, these bills state that “The DoJ or the copyright owner would be able to commence a legal action against the alleged infringer”.
   • The bills would grant private entities like the MPAA and the RIAA the right to blacklist a site.

What is Protect IP and SOPA Interview from Lockergnome (http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?v=VxPQ320jBLc&feature=youtu NULL.be&a)

The following video comes from Chris Pirillo of Lockergnome explaining how Protect IP and SOPA can affect everyone.

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)

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.