by Lauren Kelley
December 31, 2011
from
AlterNet Website
The debate over
SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) has
pitted Hollywood executives and the Republican-supported Chamber of Commerce
against, well, basically everyone who enjoys the free and open internet,
with critics saying that the legislation could lead to widespread internet
censorship.
Among those critics are major websites like,
...which are considering imposing an internet
"blackout" in protest of the bill.
The Daily Mail
reports:
The battle over the SOPA bill has seen
leading web firms square off against Hollywood media companies in a
trade-off between internet freedom and intellectual property rights.
Now it could burst into the open as technology giants are planning to
'censoring' their own homepages, according to a leading internet lobby
group.
Sites such as Google, Amazon and Facebook could temporarily replace
their usual homepage with a black screen and a message asking users to
contact politicians and urge them to oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act.
The move could come as early as January 24, when the bill is due to be
debated in the House of Representatives.
One of the only major web companies to have
supported SOPA is
GoDaddy, which was shamed into reversing
its support after throngs of customers (including heavy hitters like
Wikipedia) moved their domain names elsewhere.
Top Web Firms Set to Impose a Blackout in Protest
Against...
'Big Brother' Online Piracy Bill
by Hugo Gye
30 December 2011
from
DailyMail Website
|
Popular Websites to Ask Users to Oppose
The Stop Internet Piracy Act
Domain Name Company GoDaddy Reverses Its Support for SOPA After Mass
Boycott |
The world's most popular websites could impose an 'internet blackout' in
protest at a proposed law which would extend government censorship in an
effort to tackle online piracy.
The battle over the
SOPA bill has seen leading web firms square off against
Hollywood media companies in a trade-off between internet freedom and
intellectual property rights.
Now it could burst into the open as technology giants are planning to
'censoring' their own homepages, according to a leading internet lobby
group.
Blackout?
Sites including Google are
planning drastic action
to protest against the Stop
Online Piracy Act
Sites such as Google, Amazon and Facebook could
temporarily replace their usual homepage with a black screen and a message
asking users to contact politicians and urge them to oppose the Stop Online
Piracy Act.
The move could come as early as January 24, when the bill is due to be
debated in the House of Representatives.
Marham Erickson, head of NetCoalition, a body representing many of the
world's biggest websites, said that the drastic action of a blackout was
being contemplated.
'There have been some serious discussions
about that,' he said, while pointing out that 'it has never happened
before'.
Opposition
Jimmy Wales, founder of
Wikipedia,
is one of many tech pioneers
hoping to defeat SOPA
GoDaddy, the world's largest domain registration
company, had been a rare example of a web firm which supported SOPA, but was
today forced to reverse its position after thousands of users deserted it
over its political stance.
A boycott campaign which involved giants such as Wikipedia as well as a
network of individual users and small companies led to GoDaddy announcing
today that was no longer in favor of the bill.
The firm's chief executive Warren Adelman said in a statement:
'GoDaddy opposes SOPA because the
legislation has not fulfilled its basic requirement to build a consensus
among stake-holders in the technology and Internet communities.'
The unorthodox campaigning methods used by
opponents of SOPA are a response to their being heavily outspent by
Hollywood firms.
Author
Representative Lamar Smith
(R-Texas)
sponsor of the bill
Media companies are spending ten times as much
as technology firms on lobbying in relation to SOPA, which they hope will
crack down on copyright theft around the world by allowing the government to
remove links to piracy websites from search engines and social networks.
And Hollywood, traditionally a Democratic stronghold, has teamed up with the
Republican-supporting Chamber of Commerce in its efforts to push the bill -
sponsored by Texas Representative Lamar Smith - through Congress.
Ranged against them are many of the tech world's most iconic figures,
including Google's Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt, Wikipedia founder
Jimmy
Wales, and 'father of the internet' Vint Cerf.
SOPA's opponents fear that the bill will allow the government and
corporations to pursue alleged offenders without having to establish proof
that they are breaking the law.
|
TOO MUCH CONTROL?
THE BACKGROUND BEHIND SOPA
The Stop Online Piracy Act has pit internet giants, consumer groups
and freedom of speech advocates against film studios and record
labels.
The House bill would allow a private party to go straight to a
website's advertising and payment providers and request they sever
ties.
'Anyone with an axe to grind could send a notice without first
involving law enforcement [or] judicial process,' Google's Katherine
Oyama fumed.
But advocates of the legislation say current law leaves few options
for copyright holders whose products end up on foreign websites.
The U.S. Justice Department could also request court orders to
compel search engines and other sites to block domain names or
search results. |