There is a lot of commotion on the Internet when it comes to potentially being censored. Countries like China and Iran censor what web sites their citizens can or cannot view. The United States may follow in the ways of those countries, and that is definitely unconstitutional with our First Amendment rights, and the Internet is supposed to be a free for all for everyone.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a bill that is backed by many people in Congress. The Senate refers to it as Protect IP Act.
SOPA was introduced by a Republican representative from Texas named Lamar Smith last month. This bill definitely encourages Internet censorship. Supposedly it is supposed to crack down on the theft of intellectual property and put barriers up against sites that may seem rogue. Smith wants to get rid of Pirate Bay completely (the site that gives out torrents so people can illegally download software) and get rid of web sites that allow people to buy pharmaceuticals without a prescription – I believe people have the right to make bad decisions.
The Christian Science Monitor reports:
“Earlier this week, nine tech titans, including Twitter, Yahoo, and Google, signed an open letter to congress, voicing opposition to SOPA. “[T]he bills as drafted would expose law-abiding U.S. Internet and technology companies to new uncertain liabilities, private rights of action, and technology mandates that would require monitoring of web sites,” the letter reads.
“We are concerned that these measures pose a serious risk to our industry’s continue track record of innovation and job-creation, as well as to our nation’s cyber security,” the nine companies add. According to the Daily News, Google chairman Eric Schmidt, speaking at an event at MIT, called the proposed SOPA provisions “draconian.” “
American Censorship is not okay. Let’s see how this all plays out.
Zennie Abraham