You've heard the acronyms PIPA and SOPA, but do you know what they mean and how the bills now before Congress may affect you as an internet user, blog author, website owner or content creator?
The proposed legislation has been designed to protect corporate users, major production companies and manufacturers, at the expense of others who use the internet for learning, sharing and networking for business and social activities.
I am personally against PIPA and SOPA because we have legislation in place that protects us from copyright infringement issues while allowing fair use to the majority of online users, including students, instructors, and researchers, among others, who use the internet as a primary resource.
Section 512 of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows for take-down and put-back of infringing websites. Enforcement of existing laws would prevent the government from showing favoritism to the corporations that seek to monopolize the internet for corporate gains. See a list of the SOPA supporters here.
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.
Find out more about the Stop American Censorship movement and the Protect IP (PIPA) and Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) at this link: http://americancensorship.org/ and take action by contacting your legislators today.
