SOPA & PIPA

Stop Online Piracy Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57329001-281/how-sopa-would-affect-you-faq/

Protect IP Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PROTECT_IP_Act
http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/article-10012-pipa-is-the-new-sopa.html

Hello. I'm sure that by now, you've probably heard at least something about one or both of these acts. I'm not saying what you should or shouldn't do, but I personally am against both of them. I personally believe that if they pass, they could have very negative consequences for anyone who enjoys freedom of speech on the internet.

Please visit this site if you believe that these acts are an affront to your rights as an internet user.
http://americancensorship.org/

And, above all else, thank you for taking the time to read this. Figured the Open Discussion was a little lacking in activism these days.

I think I saw this on Google this morning.

Didn't they try to do something like this before?
Do you think it has any real chance of being passed?

I think something similar was attempted in 2002, not completely sure though. As far as it being passed goes, I have no idea. I can only hope that it doesn't, I believe both to be a cockpunch to the first ammendment, the likes of which this country has never seen. Well, passed at least. With the state of the Union these days, I'm not sure of anything. If it does pass though, I think that protesting/rioting is a very large possibility, especially given the opposition the bills have seen so far. And people would be right to do so, given how vague these bills (still) are, and the kind of censorship they entail. They, those who have proposed and defended these acts, claim to do so in the interest of protecting "intellectual property", and safeguarding a viable internet economy. If you've read any of either of these propositions, or seen what they would allow, it's obvious that not only were they written by somebody that has NO idea how piracy, or the internet in general, functions. Personally, I believe both of these acts (SOPA more than PIPA) to be the work of lobbyists for Hollywood, and other, large, media producing entities. But the effects of these propositions, if passed, would be much farther reaching than just stopping "piracy". A monopolizing effect would occur, which, due to the vague and nondescript nature of the proposals, would allow only those with enough resources to go to court and defend themselves in drawn-out matters of interpretation of law to ever possibly invest in the venture capital that is the internet. Another possibility, I believe, is that, if passed, this bill could actually increase piracy. If you make it taboo, people will flock to it.

I could continue, but what would follow would degenerate into an inane ramble. To summarize, SOPA is an ineffective means to stopping "piracy" on the internet, the results of which are largely overplayed by the media. It would do nothing but harm legitimate business on the web, create a stifling self-policement system for media hosting sites, and largely ruin the internet. Not only will SOPA affect the US, but even countries outside of our borders would see repercussions. The bill is being voted on this coming Monday, last I heard.