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SOPA Bill Divides Opinion as Wikipedia Blacks Out
A new bill intended to combat internet piracy has divided opinion. SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) was introduced to the White House in October 2011. The act would remove the “safe harbor” that website owners currently have. The “safe harbor” means that corporations give website owners a chance to remove any material that breaches copyright from their site. Removing this allows corporations to shut down websites that have material that breaches copyright, even if it was not posted by the owners but by visitors to the site.
Theoretically, Facebook and YouTube will be affected the most, as people frequently post material that breaches copyright. Even a clip from a film or TV programme can count as breaching copyright. Though corporations may not shut down the sites, it could involve Facebook, You Tube and other sites in lengthy and costly battles. A further argument protestors make is that it may damage the structure of the internet, as it tampers with the domain names of websites. SOPA’s legislation also involves the prevention of distributing counterfeit drugs, although most of the supporters and opposition focus on the repercussions it could have for the future of the internet.
On Wednesday, Wikipedia led an Internet blackout in protest at SOPA. Twitter did not take part; Dick Costolo, chief executive of Twitter, tweeted: “Closing down a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish” (https://twitter.com/#!/dickc/status/159014296616058880). Other websites such as Google have voiced concerns about SOPA but declined to take part in the blackout.
There are many supporters of SOPA. Rupert Murdoch tweeted: “Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts [sic] around them. No wonder pouring millions into lobbying.” SOPA’s sponsor, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) gave this statement: “Stop Online Piracy Act only targets foreign websites that are primarily dedicated to illegal activity. It does not grant the Justice Department the authority to seek a court order to shut down any website operated in the U.S. “
There are similar bills being introduced to fight internet piracy. One of them is PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act), scheduled to go to the vote on January 24th. The outcome of this will determine whether SOPA is passed or rejected.
The White House have issued this statement on the issue: “While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cyber security risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.”(https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petition-tool/response/combating-online-pira...)
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