Imagine a world without free knowledge. Is it the online apocalypse? Not so much. Google, Wikipedia, Boing Boing and others have gone dark, along with thousands of others, who are protesting two anti-piracy bills that are up for debate in the U.S. Congress.
Read the following article and write a thoughtful response.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/18/sopa-internet-blackout/?hpt=hp_bn6
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16 comments:
I think this whole SOPA thing is just an overall terrible, potential bill to be passed. This bill would contradict all things that the United States of America stands for: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the fact that all men are created equal. Censorship is simply a communist and negative factor which is trying to establish dominancy, and block all inferior services. Granted Wikipedia is sometimes notoriously wrong, it is the largest online encyclopedia, and I personally think that if you are looking for broad and basic reference, that is the place to go. With so many people negatively responded to this act, I see a denial of this bill to passed in congress.
I think this was a very good protest. It got everyone's attention and caused a lot of buzz about this. While many, including me, found it annoying to not have Wikipedia working, it shed light on how the internet would be if this bill actually passes. I am personally against the bill and hope that it doesn’t pass. I understand that this bill is meant to help people and prevent piracy, but I think it is completely against everything that the United States is supposed to be about as a country. This country was founded on freedom and this bill will take away many of the freedoms that the citizens have had forever and should continue to have. This bill is completely wrong and I think the internet protest was good to get the word out about it because some people were unaware of the consequences it could cause.
The government has no right to censor our internet or websites. This isn't about copy rights because America already has those laws passed. The government is just trying to find new ways to control our country. It's ridiculous that we have so many problems in our country today and all the government is trying to do is fix problems that aren't a problem. I'm glad that the internet websites are standing up for themselves and don't want to be censored. We deserve to live in a free world and not keep getting more sheltered from what is really going on in society. PIPA and SOPA Co-Sponsors Use Facebook to Abandon BillsDon't ever let anyone tell you there isn't power in the protest. Members of the U.S. Congress have abandoned the controversial Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) in the wake of Wednesday's Internet blackout, according to http://www.businessreviewusa.com/technology/pipa-and-sopa-co-sponsors-use-facebook-to-abandon-bills.
This SOPA bill is ridiculous. This bill isn't going to only get rid of pirated downloads, but also destroy our economy. It's also destroying our first amendment; Freedom of speech. I don’t think people realize that sometimes, pirated downloads actually help spread popularity of a product. For example, a singer releases an album and its illegally available for free on a website. Yes, some sales will be lost, but these people are still making tons of money. Now, all of these people who downloaded the album for free are huge fans of this artist, and are now buying concert tickets, merchandise, and telling all their friends. This bill is extreme and will hurt the economy more than help it.
While I do agree that the idea of banning pirated and illegal material on the internet is not a bad idea, I feel that the bill takes away to many fundamental rights that we as Americans have been promised and that America itself stands for. This is something I could not support. Musicians are always frustrated that their music is being 'stolen' and downloaded for free and this bill would act to stop that. However, there is no way to ensure that only 'harmful' sites would be blocked AND who exactly has the authority to judge whether a site is harmful or not?
Plus, even with all the piracy that exists, all one needs to do is turn on any old episode of MTV Cribs to see that the 'out of control' piracy of music isn't effecting artists much at all and for all the harm the bill would do, it really isn't worth losing promised liberties as a country.
i think the SOPA and PIPA is a bad idea. So many people relate to internet sources no matter what is may be. whether its facebok, google, wikipedia, or other informational sites. Many People relate to the internet for research, whether its based on school information or a product they may buy. i understand there comes to a point where people are downloading so much free music to their computer but thats already a law. People shouldnt just act because they want to keep information private. If you put something on the internet its public if u didnt want it to be its your own fault. everyone shouldnt be put off information just because of censorship.
This sopa organization is very ridiculous. I understand that it's not right for people to steal music and videos off the internet but i dont think its fair that the whole US has to suffer for it. There are other ways of going about it such as blocking those pirate websites. I think censoring the internet is very extreme and it makes me think theres more to it. I feel like this is just another example of the govt wanting more control and its not right. I really hope this bill doesnt pass because if it does we shouldnt even consider ourselves living in a free country, because t its not. There taking away freedom of speech, press and petition. Congress is doing the same exact stuff china does, and all those communist countries and its really scary.
I think the SOPA bill would be a terrible thing to pass. America was built on freedom and this would just take away so much of the freedom on the internet. People should have to right to go on any website to find information. That’s what the internet is all about, unlimited resources. I see what Congress is trying to do; they are trying to get rid of all illegal downloading and pirating. But even if they pass SOPA I bet there are still people who are going to download things illegally. They aren’t realizing that censoring the internet is a total violation of the freedom they instilled when this country first became a country. It would just be a really bad idea to pass it.
I feel as though Google, Wikipedia and other websites made the correct move yesterday by blacking out their website or logo. I believe that it made a strong point to the federal government that people don’t want SOPA and PIPA to be passed. I agree that the entertainment industry is probably losing thousands of dollars to piracy and the illegal actions of others. However, I don’t believe that SOPA or PIPA are the right acts to prevent piracy. These acts go against the ideas that our founding fathers created our nation on. These acts restrict our freedom to use the internet and could essentially, in the long run, make it like other countries that control what their people can and can’t see on the internet.
This would not only affect our freedom to use the internet, it could also hurt the economy. Even though it is said to help the entertainment economy, which already makes thousands and millions of dollars, if these acts shut down websites, such as tumblr, many Americans may be without a job. Sites like facebook and tumblr have hundreds of employees that work for them to help keep the website running. If the website is shut down, all of those people are without a job. So, while the entertainment industry is making money, the middle class is losing their jobs. Therefore, I do not completely support SOPA or PIPA and I agree with the websites actions to prevent the passing of these acts.
The government has no right to censor the free and expression filled community also known as the internet. People use the internet to get their idea across to hundreds, thousands, and sometimes even millions of people. This freedom of speech is protected under our first amendment rights. SOPA and Protect-IP will kill the internet. Wikipedia, Facebook, twitter, and other miscellaneous websites could potentially be shut down. Since we are so dependent on these websites, society won't be able to handle the drastic shift. The bills need to be stopped.
I think that the large amount of protesting shows that SOPA is very harsh. they are coming from a good palce trying to stop piracy, but the rules they are implying are going to be way too harsh. they moved the vote back a month to change the rules, and i think that is a good idea because if they passed this law the way it was there would be an incredible amount of negative feedback.
I think SOPA is a terrible idea. I think it will end up restricting freedom that is guaranteed to all US citizens. Although i do see the problem with pirating, i think this bill takes it too far and restricts freedom.
Furthermore, i think this bill is bad because it seems like government officials and law-makers who are discussing the bill do not completely understand what the bill does.
I disagree with this bill and hope it is not passed.
The new legislation trying to be passed is ridiculous. The government can not censor what people say on the internet, it violates our first amendment right to freedom of speech. If the bill is passed it is going to do more harm then good, it is not going to stop piracy it is simply going to force people to find a better way to hide it. Measures such as SOPA have been taken before and have not worked. So many people are already complaining about the possibility of having such a bill, that I don't believe it will be passed.
i think the SOPA is stupid. I am personally against the bill and hope that it doesn’t pass. Censorship is a communist and negative factor. People shouldnt just act because they want to keep information private. Wikipedia, Facebook, and twitter could be shut down leading a dramatic society crash in social networking. I see a huge denial in passing this act.
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