Left Coast Contessa

a word about SOPA

January 19, 2012 at 1:43 am Leave a comment

It would be remiss to not mention SOPA or PIPA on the blog at all. Those who use the internet or are on facebook or twitter surely have seen some coverage of SOPA/PIPA. I hardly consider myself an expert on IP law. I do, however, consider myself a politics junkie and a minor policy wonk. Lucky for me I have met some very smart people in law school who do know about IP law. If SOPA or PIPA were to pass, it would fundamentally change the  internet, how information is shared, and the blog world. If you use the internet in any capacity (i.e.: you are reading my blog so clearly you have SOME contact with the internet) you should be concerned about SOPA.

Here is an explantation of what SOPA/PIPA is, in plain English. This explanation is so simple a child would understand it.

In the words of my friend Josh, who studies and works in IP law: “IP needs to be protected, but SOPA & PIPA are bad legislation. They’re poorly written. They’re overly restrictive. They’re largely unnecessary since mechanisms for dealing with the problems they purport to deal with (if used as media companies say they’ll be used) already exist. But they allow for a scary kind of abuse – what borders on censorship – that has nothing to do with protecting IP. It’s not about liberal versus conservative. It’s not about content creators versus tech companies. It’s about making our legislators do what they’re paid to do: go back to the table, do some homework, and draft a fair workable piece of legislation that doesn’t chill open speech and stifle innovation.”

Here is an op/ed that was on Mashable today.

Here is a hilarious explanation from DListed (note: this is likely not suitable for work)

And you should sign this petition or write your Senator or Congressperson if you want to take action.

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