Sites such as Wikipedia protest over SOPA and PIPA bills in US 2

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What are SOPA and PIPA?
SOPA and PIPA represent two bills in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate respectively. SOPA is short for the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” and PIPA is an acronym for the “Protect IP Act.” (“IP” stands for “intellectual property.”) In short, these bills are efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by foreign web sites, but, in our opinion, they do so in a way that actually infringes free expression while harming the Internet. Detailed information about these bills can be found in the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act articles on Wikipedia, which are available during the blackout. GovTrack lets you follow both bills through the legislative process: SOPA on this page, and PIPA on this one. The EFF has summarized why these bills are simply unacceptable in a world that values an open, secure, and free Internet.
Why is this happening?
Wikipedians have chosen to black out the English Wikipedia for the first time ever, because we are concerned that SOPA and PIPA will severely inhibit people’s access to online information. This is not a problem that will solely affect people in the United States: it will affect everyone around the world.
Why? SOPA and PIPA are badly drafted legislation that won’t be effective in their main goal (to stop copyright infringement), and will cause serious damage to the free and open Internet. They put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won’t have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn’t being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won’t show up in major search engines. And, SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.
(Source Wikipedia) 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more

Also there’s the issue of Net Neutrality, http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/net-neutrality

What do you think?

Thanks.

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2 thoughts on “Sites such as Wikipedia protest over SOPA and PIPA bills in US”

  • Jonathan

    I hope that GreenISP members can respond to this threat?

    It should not have to be but please take action to save free speech on the net…

    “Today we could save the free Internet and stop the US Congress passing a law that gives them the power to censor the world’s Internet. Public pressure is at boiling point and we are turning the tide. Let’s stop the bill now — sign the petition!”

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_action_center_b/?cViFsab

  • Chris

    I see that the arguments are raging in Europe now over the ACTA agreement, the UK has already signed up??

    http://www.stopacta.info/

    What do you think about this, maybe it is the end of the Internet as we know it if SOPA and ACTA go through?

    Hey Ho..

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