I'm sure most of you here have heard of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), and although it's looking increasingly unlikely to be passed in the US now, it's still worth spending just a little bit of time explaining exactly what it is, as briefly as possibly, so you can decide for yourself whether or not you think it's right, and then (hopefully!) explain your reasonings.
What is SOPA?
The Stop Online Piracy Act is a proposed bill in America which will, in theory, allows copyright owners and the law to crack down much harder on piracy. Remember sites like Pirate Bay? Well, SOPA would have closed that place down in an instant, and would have given rights to the law to crack down far more vigorously on the people who used it.
"But Pirate Bay is an extreme case", I hear you cry. And you're right. It is. But what about other websites, like YouTube? Have you ever watched a user-uploaded video of a game, or listened to music on the same site (or anywhere else where you haven't paid for it, for that matter), or watched a film trailer online? Have you ever thought that you were just as guilty of piracy as the people in the first catergory? Well, SOPA (in extreme cases) threatens to allow this. And, for me, that's just wrong.
And that's just the start.
The biggest issue people have with the bill (myself included), is the threat of censoring webistes which you and I probably visit every day, like Google, or Flickr, or Youtube (as mentioned above), or proxy servers (like those used in the Arab Spring) to an extent where it's hard to know right from wrong. Is it right to live in a world where our freedom of speech is threatened in any context in 2012, the 'year of the future'? The fact that such a proposition was ever drafted up is both laughable and insulting in equal measures to me, and the fact that there's even a chance of this becoming the norm in the US irkes me greatly.
Of course, there must be a reason why this is being considered. Isn't there always?
And isn't it always the same.
It's all about the money. The bill would allow copyright holders to more easily fine and shut down any infrigments of copyright, were it hosted by a site like Youtube or Pirate Bay, far more easily than currently. Of course, this has benefits. 'Real' pirates (who I am not one, and who disgust me greatly) and sites which host said illegaly obtained software will have a much harder time unlawfully aquiring the software, and with much greater penalties if they do. This means more money for copyright holders, and the number of pirated games, videos etc. drastically decreasing over the coming years.
But is it a price worth paying? Should we, the law-abiding majority, be forced to have our Internet censored in a similar way to the widespread Chinese firewall currently present? (The goals aren't the same, but the outcome may well be). I disagree. The best course of action would be for everyone to stop pirating music, films and games and giving the producers and developers the money they deserve. The fact such a heavy step has been proposed must show the the issue of 'real' piracy has more than got out of hand.
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I am not here to tell you that SOPA is bad, and yes, I may be a little biased here. I am here to advise you of the issues and threats which are attahced to it. Make up your own mind, and maybe use the below links to persuade you, some for, some against, to make up your own mind.
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/%21/petition/veto-sopa-bill-and-any-other-future-bills-threaten-diminish-free-flow-information/g3W1BscR
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57329001-281/how-sopa-would-affect-you-faq/
http://www.destructoid.com/donating-money-to-oppose-sopa-on-the-industry-s-behalf-219694.phtml
