xxMESTxx

Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.





More about SOPA and PIPA

Members of Congress are trying to do the right thing by going after pirates and counterfeiters but SOPA and PIPA are the wrong way to do it.

1. SOPA and PIPA would censor the Web

The U.S. government could order the blocking of sites using methods similar to those employed by China. Among other things, search engines could be forced to delete entire websites from their search results. That’s why 41 human rights organizations and 110 prominent law professors have expressed grave concerns about the bills.

2. SOPA and PIPA would be job-killers because they would create a new era of uncertainty for American business

Law-abiding U.S. internet companies would have to monitor everything users link to or upload or face the risk of time-consuming litigation. That’s why AOL, EBay, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo and Zynga wrote a letter to Congress saying these bills “pose a serious risk to our industry’s continued track record of innovation and job-creation.” It’s also why 55 of America’s most successful venture capitalists expressed concern that PIPA “would stifle investment in Internet services, throttle innovation, and hurt American competitiveness”. More than 204 entrepreneurs told Congress that PIPA and SOPA would “hurt economic growth and chill innovation”.

3. SOPA and PIPA wouldn’t stop piracy

To make matters worse, SOPA and PIPA won’t even work. The censorship regulations written into these bills won’t shut down pirate sites. These sites will just change their addresses and continue their criminal activities, while law-abiding companies will suffer high penalties for breaches they can’t possibly control.

There are effective ways to combat foreign “rogue” websites dedicated to copyright infringement and trademark counterfeiting, while preserving the innovation and dynamism that have made the Internet such an important driver of American economic growth and job creation. Congress should consider alternatives like the OPEN Act, which takes targeted and focused steps to cut off the money supply from foreign pirate sites without making US companies censor the Web.

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"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." -M. K. Gandhi

Freshgrease

Yeah....Reddit and Wikipedia were down today. That's why I'm here.

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xxMESTxx

Yeah I read somewhere that thousands of websites were affiliated against this bill. A lot of which will participate in these black outs.

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"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." -M. K. Gandhi

UnicornG

yeah, NO to SOPA and PIPA!
only the hypocrites would accept these bills

Mal

SOPA/PIPA aren't a direct threat to most of the websites involved in the blackout/protest, but it sets a dangerous precedent in terms of freedom of speech and information and lays the ground work for censorship without due process.

For any gamers out there, share this with your gaming friends.

ask me anything

Better yet, sign the petition to have the ESA withdraw their support of the bill

http://www.change.org/petitions/stop...nd-boycott-e3# Fight the powah!!!

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kael03

SOPA/PIPA have been pulled.

Numinous

Good, but that's until they give it a new jacket and push it again. They've been doing this since the 90's.

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kael03

Oh, I'm aware of the distinct possibility of it coming back in a new form. Congress needs to understand that "online pirating" isn't nearly as harmful to the entertainment industry as they are being led to believe. Nor will they be able to stamp it out by passing a law that will only accomplish more attacks by Anonymous and the possibility of another Egypt.

Mal

Well now that the CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America is no longer a US Senator, there will be at least one voice fewer supporting such bills in the future.

ask me anything

So victory? Yeah victory!!!

Unless it's a feint. They might try to sneak it into some Dog food legislation bill, all ninja like. Be vigilant and watch out for flank attacks.

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