SOPA, PIPA and More

January 19, 2012

Well, in all honesty, I don’t know if it is even possible. While there may be obstacles to instant success, those with a will usually find a way to accomplish their goals. The thought arose while I was sitting at a computer and browsing CNN. I noticed that there was a large black bar over the logo for Google, but it wasn’t until I made it to the top stories of the day that I learned about the global protest. It has been rumored to be the largest Internet protest in the relatively short history of the Internet with sites such as Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, Mozilla, and a host of other Internet giants taking a stand and in some instances going completely dark in opposition to two bills under general consideration by Congress.

Both the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA legislation (Protect Intellectual Property Act) seek to create a more firm base for attacking and punishing piracy of information on the Internet. The bills have the possibility to limit sharing of information and in some instances corporations would have the power to take down entire sites for what they believe to be a breach of intellectual property rights. A bill, the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, currently empowers corporations and sites to take some action to reduce or reverse internet piracy.

However, my question is: Will these bills stop the pirated spread of information on the internet?

Yum yum, a thought to chew on for the day.

Joel B.
Lee's Summit Branch