If you've never heard anybody talking about SOPA over the last few weeks, let me just say it has nothing to do with washing your hands. It's an acronym for the Stop Online Piracy Act, legislative measure making it's way through the House of Representatives, designed to stop...well, piracy, and any illegal activity over the internet. The bill, and it's senatorial counterpart, PIPA(Protect IP Act), have been the topic of some pretty heated discussion.
SOPA's aims aren't the issue, as I understand the need to put an end to some of these bit torrent sites that allow for the illegal downloading of movies and music, or other sites that steal content on the regular. The problem is that the bill is too far reaching in it's scope, so it should come as no surprise it was introduced by those hypocritical "small government" Republicans, in this case Representative Lamar Smith. The power granted by SOPA would grant the attorney general unchecked power to shut down any website under suspicion of copyright infringement. So, y'know those times when we've had a leaked trailer or something and the studios give us a hard time then yank it down? We could potentially be shut down for something like that.
Today, a number of major websites such as Google, Wikipedia, Reddit, are blacking out as a means of protest against SOPA. This has apparently pissed off Chris Dodd, former Democratic senator and current chairman of the Motion Pictures Association of America, who is a big supporter of the bill. He released this statement to that effect....
WASHINGTON —The following is a statement by Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) on the so-called “Blackout Day” protesting anti-piracy legislation:
“Only days after the White House and chief sponsors of the legislation responded to the major concern expressed by opponents and then called for all parties to work cooperatively together, some technology business interests are resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their corporate pawns, rather than coming to the table to find solutions to a problem that all now seem to agree is very real and damaging.
It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information use their services. It is also an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today. It’s a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users in order to further their corporate interests.
A so-called “blackout” is yet another gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals. It is our hope that the White House and the Congress will call on those who intend to stage this “blackout” to stop the hyperbole and PR stunts and engage in meaningful efforts to combat piracy.”
Nice choice of words. "So called" blackouts. I like Chris Dodd. The Dodd/Frank Wall Street Reform Act? Not strong enough, but hey, at least he was trying to do something. Even as his political career was in a scandalous tailspin I supported the guy, but now it looks like he's just another corporate stooge. It's interesting that he'd be so up in arms over these sites using this particular form of free speech, to their own detriment mind you, when he's supporting legislation that would give the government the power to black them out permanently at the drop of a hat. It's simply ridiculous.
According to some on Capitol Hill, SOPA will be dead on arrival once it's finally voted on in the House. PIPA, on the other hand, is making it's way through the Senate and will be brought to a final vote in six days.
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