Thfire.com Everyday news that matters The US senate is all set to pass a bill on Internet Censorship as known as SOPA.
What is SOPA?
Stop Online Piracy Act, SOPA, is a new description to the common house hold term dominance. This act will give the Internet Service provider extreme access to cancel the domain address of any website[ that you like] which has supposedly involved in Copyright infringement.
Under current practice, copyright owners such as TV networks and Hollywood studios reach out to websites to request that pirated videos be taken down. Under the new regime, they could ask banks, Internet service providers and domain name registrars to stop doing business with websites that they believed were devoted to piracy.
They could, for instance, go straight to YouTube’s domain registration company and demand that the entire YouTube website be taken down. And if the registrar resisted, the copyright owners would have the legal ability to take the registrar to court.
But the SOPA act is opposite to current practice. The SOPA has all the routes to satisfy the urging needs of entertainment industry whose movies and songs are pirated online every minute as we speak.
The law, however, worries the internet giants such as Twitter, Google, Reddit, Kickstarter, Tumblr, Mozilla, Yahoo, AOL, eBay, Zynga, Facebook, who have spoken against the law.
How will SOPA affect me? I dont care about the Biggies!
As per the SOPA act, it makes possible for companies to block the domain names of web sites that would appear to encourage copyright infringement.
Copyright Infringement can be anything. Let it be copying a image, video, music, quotes, articles, information, and the list goes on.
So, if you find your favorite website blocked! Just remember that they would have violated any one of the above said Copyright Infringement.
I believe, you can now understand the concern of the tech giants, possibly Facebook, Google, Twitter. That is why Google and Facebook are teaming up. Yeah, you heard it right. Teaming up to fight against this law.
Boy, when it comes to business they stick together.
Entertainment Industry behind the law
As the saying goes, when a man is at loss, he will do anything to overcome it. Seems like the Entertainment industry is quite accurate to the saying.
Thanks to Hollywood support and campaign for both the house, we now have serious concerns from Politicians on the issue.
Huffington post relates House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith as saying on Wednesday’s hearing ” The theft of American intellectual property costs the American economy over $100 billion annually … and thousands of American jobs.”
SOPA was designed to “promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property, and for other purposes,” Smith added.
What can i do to prevent the Bill from getting passed?
Lifehacker has good tips for you on how to stop the SOFA. Here it goes,
First, call your congressperson on the phone. This is especially important if you live in Texas, Michigan, Vermont, or Iowa. You can also send a letter to your congressperson by visiting the American Censorship Day web site. To activate the contact widget, you have to click the “Try it out” link that’s wedged between two screenshots of a censored logo and the “Website Blocked” widget you’re trying to open. This will provide you with a form and allow you to send a letter.
Second, get the word out. Post this article, the American Censorship Day web site, or any other information about SOPA on your social media accounts. Send emails to friends and family. If you oppose the bill, help others to understand why they should oppose it as well.
SOPA is on the fast track, so if you want to fight it you need to do so today. We do, however, recommend you get to know the bill so you you can make an informed decision regarding how you feel about it.
