SOPA, PIPA and What They Mean for You

I do know that the bills named SOPA and PIPA have been scrapped for a while, with that in mind here are my thoughts on them and why in there most recent form they should never be passed:

As you most likely witnessed, especially if you are a student with an impending project or research paper, the user-input based online encyclopedia Wikipedia was down just a few days ago. This was in an act of protest joined by several other web-based companies and web sites to combat the impending legislation known as SOPA. The Stop Online Piracy Act is the House version of legislation (joined by the PROTECT IP or PIPA in the Senate) that is meant to protect the intellectual property of the American economy from foreign websites. However, its announcement has been met a serious backlash due to its supposed limitations of free speech and other concerns.

Through the language of the bills it becomes illegal for any site to post links to any copyrighted material. This would in effect cripple most sites that rely on user-generated input, like Facebook, Wikipedia and Youtube, by requiring them to check every link posted on their own sites. Another limitation would be the restrictions placed on sites by blocking credit card payments to sites should they have an unlawful link. By eliminating their main source of revenue, small sites would be left exceedingly vulnerable.

Notable about this whole ordeal is the role of former-Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut and now the Chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America. Although unable to lobby lawmakers directly as he has not been out of office for the necessary two years, Mr. Dodd still retains a large influence on the crowd in Capitol Hill, so it should be interesting to follow how his influence plays out in the ensuing period of time. As an aside it should also be noted that Mr. Dodd has been accused of using his privileged position in crafting the landmark financial regulation legislation, Dodd-Frank Act, for which he is the namesake, in creating for himself better opportunities in his post-Senatorial career. These statements have not been validated nor are they my own but they should be brought into the debate when talking about his influence especially on such high-profile issues as financial reform and internet regulation.

Finally, considering how the bills have been put on a back burner for the time being, we should claim this as a victory for popular protest. Regular people, although joined by large corporations, stood up to Washington and told them No and Washington responded. So I leave you with now with a hope that however unresponsive and corrupt our politics may appear to be, at least for now, if the people rise up and speak, politicians are forced to listen.