SOPA

[SayOw]

This past week we saw some online entities protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act like Facebook, Google and Wikipedia.

Yesterday Megaupload was taken down and the "war" has begun.

If SOPA passes you might as well unplug the internet because it will be essentially the complete opposite of what it was created to be...a (mostly) free, open source flow of information to anyone that wants to tap into it. SOPA will essentially allow Hollywood to take over the internet, regulate it and of course charge you for it ... all of which will likely line the pockets of your favorite politician that is in full support of this act.

My questions regarding this is, first, why can't the "complainers" (namely music and movie makers) come up with their own technologies to secure their products rather then call for censorship of the internet and then second, why doesn't the government advocate that route as well rather than advocate censorship? Instead, there is virtually no attempt being made to stop piracy by the industry and they are simply buying politicians to support their 'grander' vision of total control...

[SayOw]

Immediately following Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) decision to postpone a full vote on the “PROTECT IP Act” (PIPA), which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), chief sponsor of the “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA), has announced that he will delay further consideration of the contentious anti-piracy bill in the House “until there is wider agreement on a solution.”

Full story here.

[yon Beast]

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/jul...ry?id=16707082

We are publishing our declaration on Independence Day to echo the American founding fathers' publication of the Declaration of Independence, though we believe these values can and should apply globally as befits a global network. And what we declare, simply, is that:

We stand for a free and open Internet.

We support transparent and participatory processes for making Internet policy and the establishment of five basic principles:

Expression: Don't censor the Internet.

Access: Promote universal access to fast and affordable networks.

Openness: Keep the Internet an open network where everyone is free to connect, communicate, write, read, watch, speak, listen, learn, create and innovate.

Innovation: Protect the freedom to innovate and create without permission. Don't block new technologies, and don't punish innovators for their users' actions.

Privacy: Protect privacy and defend everyone's ability to control how their data and devices are used.

this sounds more constructive

[SayOw]

Greed has no room or time for freedom.