createnjoy
3rd January 2012, 00:16
Hello everyone, this is an informational e-mail. Please take a minute to read it - because it will affect you.
There is a good chance that this week or next week Facebook, Google, YouTube, Yahoo, Twitter, Amazon, Ebay, GoDaddy and a host of other services will go offline. Temporarily. They will do this in protest to a law that is about to be passed by Congress. The law is called SOPA, for Stop Online Piracy Act, and it will deeply affect much of the internet. There are 2 major things you should know about this bill as it gets debated in congress.
1) The bill (at this point) uses language that is very broad. It is supposed to target foreign websites dedicated to piracy. It does this by having someone tell the ISP (internet service provider - Verizon, Comcast, etc.) that the website is hosting pirated material. Then the ISP blocks that website for all of their customers. No trial, no validation, no investigation, no due process, no lawyers - just an accusation and then an empty webpage for everyone. That is scary enough as it is - but the nature of the broad language means that the same thing can happen to any website - and that websites are now responsible for what their users post. Someone posts a link to a 35 second Disney movie clip on Facebook - bam! Facebook blocked. Someone quotes from the newest Twilight book on Twitter - bam! Twitter blocked. It is doubtful that the law would be used in this manner - but the fact that SOPA puts the legal framework in place for it to happen is truly terrifying. The fact that there would be a law on the books that would allow a random person to shut down a website will fundamentally change how the internet works forever. Regardless of your personal stance on piracy - there is nothing (so far) in the bill to protect 99% of the internet from being wrongly accused and then disappearing forever. [The details are a little more nuanced, I provide merely a rough summary here]
2) This is a fight for control. Hollywood and Big Music want to stop piracy of music, movies and TV. They have not been able to make a smooth transition to the internet, and therefore want to be able to shut down vast parts of it in order to keep control over their copyrighted works. The RIAA and MIAA (representing Hollywood and Big Music) have poured millions of dollars into this bill - and it is apparent. This bill is at 60-90% support (gathered from a variety of websites, useful as a rough estimate) and the vast majority see the bill as simply a "It's against pirating movies" bill instead of a "It could change the way the internet works forever" bill. It is the law of unintended consequences. Hollywood and Big Music have many valid concerns and have gone after their goals - trying to shut down media piracy - only to potentially destroy how the internet works.
If the above concerns you, please follow some links below and do your own searches. Get more information. Confirm what I tell you - please don't just take my word on this. A lot of very tech savvy people and lawyers are really worried about this - and the bulk of American's don't even know about this issue. And after you've done some homework - ask your congressperson to stand against SOPA. If nothing happens right now - the bill will pass - and the internet will be a very different place.
And at the minimum - do all of your online stuff right now. Facebook, Google, YouTube, Yahoo, Twitter, Amazon, Ebay, GoDaddy and a host of other services will go offline in protest sometime in the next week or two. They might be down for a few hours or up to a day. This will have a huge effect on a lot of people. It would be horrible if you missed a car payment or a cell phone bill because you couldn't remember the http to get to Sprint's website or the like while Google was down. At least it's temporary. If SOPA passes, it may be permanent.
SOPA information below.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57329001-281/how-sopa-would-affect-you-faq/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act
http://dq99alanzv66m.cloudfront.net/sopa/img/12-14-letter.pdf
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/30/will-google-amazon-and-facebook-blackout-net/
There is a good chance that this week or next week Facebook, Google, YouTube, Yahoo, Twitter, Amazon, Ebay, GoDaddy and a host of other services will go offline. Temporarily. They will do this in protest to a law that is about to be passed by Congress. The law is called SOPA, for Stop Online Piracy Act, and it will deeply affect much of the internet. There are 2 major things you should know about this bill as it gets debated in congress.
1) The bill (at this point) uses language that is very broad. It is supposed to target foreign websites dedicated to piracy. It does this by having someone tell the ISP (internet service provider - Verizon, Comcast, etc.) that the website is hosting pirated material. Then the ISP blocks that website for all of their customers. No trial, no validation, no investigation, no due process, no lawyers - just an accusation and then an empty webpage for everyone. That is scary enough as it is - but the nature of the broad language means that the same thing can happen to any website - and that websites are now responsible for what their users post. Someone posts a link to a 35 second Disney movie clip on Facebook - bam! Facebook blocked. Someone quotes from the newest Twilight book on Twitter - bam! Twitter blocked. It is doubtful that the law would be used in this manner - but the fact that SOPA puts the legal framework in place for it to happen is truly terrifying. The fact that there would be a law on the books that would allow a random person to shut down a website will fundamentally change how the internet works forever. Regardless of your personal stance on piracy - there is nothing (so far) in the bill to protect 99% of the internet from being wrongly accused and then disappearing forever. [The details are a little more nuanced, I provide merely a rough summary here]
2) This is a fight for control. Hollywood and Big Music want to stop piracy of music, movies and TV. They have not been able to make a smooth transition to the internet, and therefore want to be able to shut down vast parts of it in order to keep control over their copyrighted works. The RIAA and MIAA (representing Hollywood and Big Music) have poured millions of dollars into this bill - and it is apparent. This bill is at 60-90% support (gathered from a variety of websites, useful as a rough estimate) and the vast majority see the bill as simply a "It's against pirating movies" bill instead of a "It could change the way the internet works forever" bill. It is the law of unintended consequences. Hollywood and Big Music have many valid concerns and have gone after their goals - trying to shut down media piracy - only to potentially destroy how the internet works.
If the above concerns you, please follow some links below and do your own searches. Get more information. Confirm what I tell you - please don't just take my word on this. A lot of very tech savvy people and lawyers are really worried about this - and the bulk of American's don't even know about this issue. And after you've done some homework - ask your congressperson to stand against SOPA. If nothing happens right now - the bill will pass - and the internet will be a very different place.
And at the minimum - do all of your online stuff right now. Facebook, Google, YouTube, Yahoo, Twitter, Amazon, Ebay, GoDaddy and a host of other services will go offline in protest sometime in the next week or two. They might be down for a few hours or up to a day. This will have a huge effect on a lot of people. It would be horrible if you missed a car payment or a cell phone bill because you couldn't remember the http to get to Sprint's website or the like while Google was down. At least it's temporary. If SOPA passes, it may be permanent.
SOPA information below.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57329001-281/how-sopa-would-affect-you-faq/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act
http://dq99alanzv66m.cloudfront.net/sopa/img/12-14-letter.pdf
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/30/will-google-amazon-and-facebook-blackout-net/