Internet Censorship Bill 2011

News Item

The internet as we know it could soon change dramatically, if the Hollywood copyright bill named Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) passes. According to (Carter & Grim, 2011, p. 1) The Stop Online Piracy Act would establish major new powers for corporations intent on corralling copyrighted materials -- powers that would lead to big legal bills for start-ups and Silicon Valley giants alike.

The SOPA would make much of the internet’s traffic illegal activity. Also due to high costs it would be very difficult for new web based companies to start up. So internet giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter would be facing less competition. These same companies could be faced with scary ramifications for displaying copyrighted material if the bill indeed passes. Copyright owners could, for instance, go straight to YouTube's domain registration company and demand that the entire YouTube website be taken down (Carter & Grim, 2011, p. 1). Websites that many of us visit on a daily basis could be removed from the internet completely because the government would be given the power to block a website completely. Although it’s highly unlikely that these larger companies would be taken down due to the amount of money they could use on legal teams.

Companies like Google started somewhere but if the SOPA bill passes it will become more difficult to start a new website and have it grow. New and smaller companies could be face to face with legal trouble that they cannot afford to have. This would lead to less innovation on the internet and in some sense could shatter the dreams of many seeking a web based career. Many companies like AOL, eBay, and Yahoo have come out and voiced their opposition, and Mozilla even had an online demonstration of what the “new” internet would be like under the SOPA you can see it here LINK. Google stands strongly against the bill because the way Google runs their business is entirely dependent on an open internet.

The SOPA bill is supported by both political parties and Carter and Grim say that Hollywood studios and trial lawyers are giving them heavy contributions on the campaign trail, making it easier for the parties to side with the SOPA. The parties main reason for backing the bill is because of the large amount of copyright infringement that goes on in the United States on a daily basis. Chairman Lamar Smith was quoted as saying “The theft of American intellectual property costs the American economy over $100 billion annually ... and thousands of American jobs,"

It seems that it will be a surprise if this bipartisan bill doesn’t get passed, so in the near future we could be looking at the internet in a completely different way. Although it remains to be seen just how large of an impact it will have on America but it doesn’t look to be a positive one unless your copyrighted material is illegally posted online or you are a lawyer dealing with all of the cases that will ensue.

Carter, Z., & Grim, R. (2011, November 16). SOPA, Internet Censorship Bill, Lauded By Both Parties In Key House Hearing . Huffington Post. Retrieved November 20, 2011, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/sopa-internet-censorship-online-piracy-house-hearing_n_1098255.html