thenumberthirteen said:
aprilmarie said:
wait a second....I told you that it would probably pass and you told me it wouldnt...i can pull up that skype convo....
True. Since then, however, things have changed, and the bill has far more support than I thought it did.
samsonguy920 said:
I'm not sure you truly understand the impact this bill will have on everyone, and I don't mean those just in the US.
I understand. I have read the bill, and listened to different interpretations. It gives the government, ISPs, and money transfer services like Paypal a free pass to remove websites on suspicion of providing copyrighted goods (both physical and digital) without a burden of proof or risk from lawsuits if they were wrong.
As a UK citizen I have no right to interfere in the creation of this bill. I can say it's not a good idea, but it is up to US citizens to stop this bill. Not me.
If this bill passes, it will be a green light to international companies which include movie studios, record labels, and game companies to put pressure on other governments to enact the same legislation there. You can bet Canada and the EU will be the first targets. So now is the best time to make sure those who represent you in your country's government know now the impact a law like SOPA(or Protect IP) can have, and why it should not ever be considered in any form as it stands. Yes, piracy is against the law and is lame(It is also not as much an impact on the economy and sales as the big companies would like you to believe). But instituting measures like these will only do more harm to people who never pirated anything in their life. Ask yourself how much online shopping do you do. Now ask yourself where you stand when those sites you shop online at are blocked outside of your government's control. How much online business does your place of work do? If you work at any franchise, it is probably a lot.
SOPA and laws like it won't be used to block sites only because they support piracy or they are sources of piracy. Companies will use the act to suspend traffic to any site they find works against their bottom line. They have done the same thing before with other laws as an act of strong-arming their competition. It will take an act of court to suspend any DNS blockages unless the company who made the complaint feels the motivation to lift it themselves. That can mean months up to a year of zero traffic except by those who know how to slip around the block. Those who know those ways are a small minority next to the major amount of people who give actual money to support commerce. Right now the world is in one of the suckiest economies next to the Great Depression and the aftermath of the Black Plague. If we let laws like SOPA and Protect IP which only serve to support the major corporations, then many more people will lose work and not find any other jobs to go to.
I'm sorry for not sugar-coating this, but I hope it helps you feel a grasp of the scale that this could impact. I have quite the imagination and I am sure there is more to it than that.
Gmans uncle said:
OT: this is something I wrote a few weeks ago, thought it might calm everyone down a bit...
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.333793-SOPA-why-it-will-not-pass
I was wondering if this legislation was what Obama was referring to, but not being sure of that, I would have to think the one man in the US government that we know who actually knows the internet would be against this. Thanks for refreshing that!
And yes, feel calm, but don't let down your guard. 2012 is an election year for many Senators and Representative. If SOPA or Protect IP doesn't pass now, it won't stop some recumbent from trying again with the next sessions. If you intend to vote for someone that is seeking to oust an incumbent, make sure you do your part to make sure they aren't going into Congress blind. The fact that citizens have to be so active really makes me wonder if congress staff-workers really do their jobs. Besides, if you participate in this, you will feel better about those deductions you claim on your taxes.
