From Stark
The online campaign against federal legislation to curb Internet piracy of copyrighted content is in the spotlight today, as Google covers its logo with a black banner and Wikipedia goes black to protest what they see as a stifling effect if Congress passes the “Stop Online Piracy Act” and the Protect IP Act.
Here is a balanced report from PC World. Among other things, advocates of anti-piracy legislation are arguing that past crackdowns (the court decisions against file-sharing outfits like Grokster et al) were also supposed to stifle freedom, but the dire warnings proved exaggerated.
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, says he favors moves to curb copyright pirates, but he opposes SOPA and PIPA in their current form.
Thanks to social media, opponents of the legislation have mobilized millions to contact Congress, and some are taking notice. Today, two Republican Senators switched from support to opposition, the New York Times reports.
UPDATE: Here’s a website that lists SOPA-PIPA campaign contributions to Washington Senators and Representatives. I have no immediate way of verifying its accuracy. Interesting to note that Larsen appears to have received significant money from pro-SOPA interests, but he is still opposing the bill at this point.
Oh No not Justin!
“A new bill in Congress makes posting a video containing any copyrighted work a felony– with up to 5 years in prison.
But wait… didn’t Justin Bieber get famous by posting YouTube videos of himself singing copyrighted R&B songs? Yep.
If this bill passes, he could get 5 years in jail.
http://freebieber.org/
AFY!!theheelotsheepdog!!!
BIG GOVERNMENT AT WORK AGAIN……. ANYTHING THEY TOUCH DOES NOT WORK. LEAVE IT ALONE JACK-AS******. WHEN WILL ALL THIS STOP.
PRETTY SOON WE COULD BE LOOKING LIKE N. KOREA. WHAT HAPPENED TO FREEDOM IN THIS COUNTRY. EVERYDAY WE ARE LOSING IT. STUPID GOVERNMENT. THEY COULD NOT RUN A LEMONADE STAND. EVERYTHING THEY TOUCH IS IN TROUBLE. MAIL,S.S, ETC…………THEY ARE ALL BROKE. GET THAT OBAMA OUT OF HERE THIS YEAR. PLEASE LETS TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY.
Thanks for pointing that out, AFY–this legislation would not be all bad.
Just kidding.
Here’s a really great, easy to understand explanation from Anon…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXhIktkK78s&feature=share
The delivery methods and monetization for the entertainment industry has had a head-on collision with new reality, and they simply must change to a new method. Smart music perfomers now just give away their new albums for free download, and then make their money on concert ticket sales and t-shirts. Record companies and other media must give up the outdated business model.
People will share, and people will parody. Work with it, not against it.
Google runs ads before and on top of popular videos. Content owners should get a percentage of money made from public uploads. We are in an information free for all, and they way to profit off of intellectual property can no longer be based on access and denial of access.
It’s like the troubles an outdoor concert has with charging for entry tickets. People can see over the fence or jump over it. The promoter needs to make money off of selling snacks and bottles of water and commemorative merchandise.
Make that four Republican Senators who have withdrawn support. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Roy Blunt of Missouri have both joined Rubio and Cornyn. Any word on Democrats withdrawing support yet?
Most of the posts here do not get it. PIPA and SPOA are driven by BIG BUSINESS (MPAA, RIAA) and our government is OWNED by big business. (Corporations are people my friend)
This is NOT something the government came up with to protect the people. This was written by business to protect their out dated business model.
Justin:
Take a deep breath.
Those that we think we are regulating will become the regulators with the power of law to put their competition out of business!
And in the mean time; liberty and freedom suffers!
BTW john, you do have a point about that one particular benefit!
AFY!!theheelotsheepdog!!!
AFY–sorry the joke misfired. I do not really think that Justin Bieber should go to jail.
The main thing is that we can get more cow bells, don’t ya know!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjsUf_oIgp0
AFY!!theheelotsheepdog!!!
“With popular sites all over the Internet “going dark” to protest well-intentioned but ill-considered antipiracy legislation, the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT-IP Act are shedding supporters faster than Anthony Weiner on a Twitter spree. But as I explain in a Cato podcast today, neither is dead yet: Rep. Lamar Smith has pledged to continue marking up SOPA next month, and PIPA is still set for a cloture vote next week…
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/whats-next-for-sopa-and-pipa/
AFY!!theheelotsheepdog!!!