SOPA Morphs Into PIPA

Last month (12/19/2011) I wrote about Why American Writers Must Care About SOPA. (And as someone pointed out, it’s a world-’round problem.)

Now we’re dealing with the Senate Version.  Named an awkward Protect IP or PIPA, it too is aimed at anti-piracy.

That’s a worthy goal, but the notion that the government knows which IP addresses or which internet servers should be shut down is ludicrous.

And letting sites be shut down simply because someone says they should be is even worse – there ‘s no review process or appeal.

That’s what they did in Egypt and do in China. It’s not what I want here in the U.S.

The infographic at ReadWriteEnterprise give a pretty decent overview of the problem.

Most agree that SOPA/PIPA won’t do anything but interfere with freedom. They would allow censorship and they wouldn’t stop piracy.

Do I have a way to stop the theft of intellectual property on the ‘net?

Heck no.

The freedom of the internet, which often looks a like like chaos, does permit those so inclined to exploit it for illegal gains. I get that and eve wish it were otherwise. But so far none of the suggestions from Congress have made any real sense and I doubt the solution will come from there.

There may not be a solution, at least in any final sense. After all, speed limits don’t stop speeders, but we don’t shut down the highways to stop people from driving too fast.

Let’s not shut down or cripple the internet because some people are thieves.

You can contact your representative by typing in your zip code at Congress.org in the Find Your Lawmakers box. From there you’re a couple of clicks away from a phone number – give ‘em a call and tell them you vote and you’re opposed to PIPA and anything like it.

Tell us what happens when you call.

Write well and often,

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Related posts:

1. Why American Writers Must Care About SOPA