When you visited Wikipedia or Google on Jan. 18 you probably noticed the sites were blacked out as an act of protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act. SOPA was introduced by the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas in October 2010. No action was taken on the bill last year, however as of this past week, the bill has made it back to the House floor for debate.
SOPA seeks to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to fight online trafficking of copywrited material shared illegally. The bill includes provisions that would make advertising of infringing websites illegal and would require search engines to eliminate links to such sites. Under this law, advertising companies and search engines would be court-ordered to comply. In addition, the bill imposes a larger maximum penalty on violators of the law.
Proponents of the bill say it is only protecting the rights of those who lose revenue and jobs to copywrite infringement. However, those against the bill, including Internet giants Google and Wikipedia, say the bill is Internet censorship and threatens free speech, given entire Internet domains could be blocked if infringing material is found on just one page or blog site.
What do you think? Is this bill unconstitutional or is the government correct in its scope in imposing such legislation?
Let HC OSU know what you think and post a comment below!
Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57329001-281/how-sopa-would-affect-you-faq/
Picture source: http://reasonradionetwork.com
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at OSU chapter.
