Hey guys,
You may have read blog entries, messages, tweets, or the famous blackout message. SOPA and PIPA are abbreviations that are coming up more and more often day to day. You may be wondering, what is SOPA? Well, I’m here to answer all or most of your questions.
What is SOPA?
SOPA is an abbreviation for “Stop Online Piracy Act.” In the government, it is known as “House Bill 3261.” The US House of Representatives introduced this bill October 26th, 2011.
This bill, if passed, gives law enforcement and copyright holders rights to sue and persecute anyone who holds copyrighted materials or counterfeit goods. Let’s continue on how it affects us.
How will SOPA affect me?
As if 2010, almost 80% of US citizens use the Internet. The Internet is a fast growing industry which most use to share things like videos, pictures, and source code.
If the bill is passed, sites like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, ProjectFreeTV, and other sites such as that may be censured or will close down.
If say you uploaded a funny picture on Facebook or Twitter, you may get sued or jailed for possessing and uploading the image in question. If you cannot say afford to pay for cable television, you may go online to watch your movies and TV shows. This bill may put a halt to non-licensed sites.
How is SOPA affecting me now?
Using the example of YouTube, many content owners of music, and music videos have the power to sue or block your videos from certain countries.
While some things are outside of US jurisdiction, the US can still make internet providers (such as AT&T, etc.) block domain names. Corporations can also cut off funds to infringing websites. This means that web hosting companies or advertising firms can cancel your accounts. Not good if you need to keep up those servers!
You can still access websites by their IP address (example: 195.122.131.12 for RapidShare.com), although corporations will try to sue and/or cripple these websites. This can make websites, social media sites, and search engines go bankrupt (have no money and/or have debt).
Many countries look to the US as a large leader. They will follow what the US does. Not all countries will be nice and not abuse their powers. China is an example already, blocking Facebook, Skype, and YouTube.
*Do not think that just because you’re outside of the US that this means it will not affect you. Because it will.
What can I do to stop SOPA?
There are a few options on how to support the end of SOPA. Here are a few well known methods, but some people will probably find creative ways too!
1. Tell your friends - If you use social media such as Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, MySpace, etc. you can post it on your blogs (such as what I’m doing) or posting it as your status.
2. Sign the petition - http://sopa.com/, http://americancensorship.org/, and http://sopastrike.com/ are places where YOU can sign the petition absolutely free.
3. Add the banner to your site – http://sopastrike.com/#how-to-strike by adding that banner to your website, you can show your friends and viewers that you support the end of SOPA.
4. Add the blackout code to your site - When your viewers or readers visit your website, a black screen will appear asking them to support SOPA. It also provides links to sites which tell you about SOPA. Of course, there is the option at the bottom of the page to continue to your site like normal. All you have to do is add the following code to your website.
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://js.sopablackout.org/sopablackout.js"></script>
5. Make a video or image showing that you DO NOT support SOPA - Videos and images speak louder than words. If you’re awesome at creating videos and images, this might be your way of rebelling against the SOPA bill. All you need is Photoshop, video editing software, a video camera, plenty of defiance, and you’re all set to go.
-Jamie Larouqe (Editor)
