Did you visit sites such as Wikipedia, Google, or Reddit on Jan. 18? Many websites on that day were blacked out or out of use in protest to the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act.
SOPA and PIPA are two similar acts. SOPA was led by the House of Representatives and PIPA by the Senate, which were both aimed at creating Internet laws.
SOPA was introduced by United States Representative Lamar Smith to allow the U.S. law enforcement more control over Internet content, especially on websites created outside of the U.S. In simpler words, the law wouldcensor most content put on the Internet. The law would also protect the intellectual property market, jobs, revenue and would be stricter on copyright laws against foreign websites.
SOPA allows law enforcement access to block entire websites due to a simple blog or post on that site and would make websites responsible for user content.
What does this mean for college students? You potentially would have to censor all content you post on the Internet due to the risk that a government might find it inappropriate and shut down the site or blog. Sites that are commonly used, such as YouTube, Etsy, Vimeo and Flickr have already threatened to shut down if these acts were passed.
On the flip side; it also means that the Internet will be more filtered and you as an Internet user will have to deal with less fake websites, illegal websites and block sites from overseas. It also means that if you upload illegal content you will be held responsible for it.
“If these laws were to have passed, we would only have been giving the government more control over us. I enjoy my freedom of speech and this would definitely take from that freedom.” said Karen Gichinga, OSU sophomore.
As for now the House will put a hold on the bill. This decision followed a SOPA blackout protest and the Senate holding their vote on the PIPA bill.