SOPA - Protecting the Internet

The internet is a truly amazing place. Despite concerns, which are probably true, that it has cost jobs in the western world, the internet has been a place for free expression (sometimes shockingly so), discussion, organization and so much more.

The real magic of the internet is its freedom. But that freedom, at least in the United States, is now seriously under threat. A bill that received a Congressional Hearing yesterday wants to, effectively, put an end to all that. The idea is supposed to be to protect intellectual property violations, which are, admittedly, widespread on the internet. But the law seeks to give the government the ability to effectively ban or blacklist websites on which users post violating links, videos or any other material. If the law had been in place, YouTube, Wikipedia and many other websites which we rely on today (quite probably including facebook and certainly including Google) would never have taken off.

Its absolutely critical to the future of free expression - and arguably therefore for humanity itself - that this bill does not go through.

This video provides a useful vantage point:

PROTECT IP Act Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.