Sopa and Pipa - What you need to know

Sopa and Pipa are two US bills racing through Congress that threaten prosperity, online security, and freedom of expression.

There are a large range of skills and abilities on BHW so we have decided to post the facts and let them speak for themselves. If you are unsure what this is all about and think it's just something "that those guys on the hill need to worry about" watch the video below. Once you have a better understanding please take 2 mins out of your day and contact your congressman now or use these guys otherwise many sites you know and love could disappear.




I can't say it better than in the words of Mr Mullenweg the founding developer of WordPress, taken from the BBC or should I say "pirated" from them.....

"I've built my life on a free and open internet. As the co-founder of WordPress.org, a free software project that aims to democratise publishing, and the founder of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com that hosts blogs from around the world in pursuit of the same goal, the proposed US legislation to regulate and censor the free and open foundation of the internet makes my mouth go dry with fear.

The rise of the web over the past two decades and the freedom to publish and express yourself online will be looked back upon as a cultural revolution.

We have gone from a world split between gatekeepers and media "consumers" to a world in which anyone regardless of geography, finances, social class, race, gender, or any other demographic identifier is free to engage with the rest of the world on their own terms.

That freedom is of paramount importance and must be protected.

That's why we're blacking out our websites on the 18th to raise awareness of this issue, and giving our users tools to do the same.

The tech world is fiercely competitive and companies seldom agree on anything, when you see so many united in solidarity on a single issue, you know there's something to it.

What concerns me the most about Sopa and the Protect IP Act is not that media companies and legislators want to have measures in place to protect copyright - for example we reply to and comply with DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notices on WordPress.com when we receive them, it works well for everybody - it's that the authors of the legislation don't seem to really understand how the internet works.

The definition of domestic versus foreign sites shows a woeful lack of comprehension about how domains are used and how traffic flows on the internet.

Where do I stand? On the side of publishing freedom.

What do I hope for? That these pieces of legislation be set aside, and that any future legislation in this arena be drafted by people who understand how the internet works - and how it won't if they do the wrong thing."

So make your own decisions, should people that openly state they don't understand or use the internet (openly stated in video streams available .... yep you guessed it - online) be allowed to put forward legislation of this magnitude? It's a game changer. Don't leave it to others, get involved, get online, stay online.

Thanks for supporting the forum
DD

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16604990

http://americancensorship.org/

http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa

These bills are ridiculous and I can't believe they haven't been crushed yet. Congress needs to step up and vote against them

First off thank you for keeping BHW open! Thanks guy's

SOPA or any attempt to internet control is a consequence of a bunch of stupid people who are against innovation.
Instead of adapting to a new world online, they keep producing CD / DVD and punishing the users who has moved on to a new model.
Give me an unlimited access to cultural files for an amount and i'll pay for it ! Otherwise, i'll just keep doing what i'm doing for free !

Any business needs to innovate to survive, why don't they ? I let you imagine if we kept doing KW stuffing for SEO like it was in 2000 !

Using google images on a website could be copyrighting couldn't it?

I don't see any PLUS side to this legislation being passed. You have to wnder what they are thinking.

the thing i hate about the bill is that the govt can just delete a domain from the registrar without proper justification. now the govt isn't going to go about deleting the domains themselves, they will ask the registrars to do it themselves. now imagine what would companies like godaddy would do with rights like that

Half these people think the internet is a series of tubes. They really shouldn't be able to legislate something they don't understand. If the companies supporting this truly wanted to make more money then they would change their model. It's not that difficult to work with piracy instead of against it.

I made some contingencies in case one of them passed, but maybe I won't need them.

http://www.warriorforum.com/

The scary thing is..even if it's beaten back this time I feel it's only a matter of time before they get what they want.....

another reason to bail form I.M. sadly....

Oh dear. Free speech..you're having a laugh!

Direct link to 'sign the petition': http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa

SOPA, Pipa, and OPEN - the 3 bills that will kill the internet.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/pipa-sopa-and-open-three-acronyms-could-change-internet

You have to see this foir the B*S* it really is....politicians/Government do not want free speech. They'll pass it as an anti piracy policy but ultimately it will be used to stamp on "free speech." Once that door is opened you can kiss goodbye to FREE. (not that we are any way)

Well in the UK once you vote the pricks in tha't sabout as far as our "democracy" goes. They make "decisions" on our behalf....I hope you are different. Worryingly...has the process started?

Damien why not pm it to all members on BHW? I can see the notice, but a pm will gain additional attention, i guess.

A lot is going wrong in the USA in these times, it's time to act or the world will suffer from a new dictatorship.

They use "terrorism" and "copyrights" as a reason to make new laws.

But the laws don't fight terrorism, they don't protect copyrights. They just supress the american people and the world.

The same things that happened before the 2nd world war, are happening in the USA now.

Search for "NDAA" on google and you'll see what i mean.

Who sleeps in democracy, will wake up in dictatorship!

Act now before it's to late!

Good luck, wish there was something i could do from England.

I noticed that the poll at the top of this post is 50%-50%!!!! it should be 100% that "you have voiced your opinion"!

I strongly urge everyone that reads this thread to contact their Representatives right now. Do not just think that everyone else will and that you do not need to.

Only a MASSIVE MOVEMENT against these two freedom killing bills will STOP them!

Do Not Delay! Act Now!

A big Thank You to each of person that has either taken action or who is going to take action right now.

Let's show these people that they can not keep taking our freedoms away.

Sadly big hosting and payment processors wil lbe so SH** scared of getting their doamins blocked they wil lblock 1st and to F*** whether it was justified or not. Forget about re-registerign once banned. Look at paypal now......you think they'll give a hoot about Plain Janes blog?

this made me remember what happened for wikileaks before , trying to control
the net like Dictator regime odd thing , thanks DD for this .

The implications of this act are so far reaching it's beyond a joke. Even in a small little country like mine it would have devastating effects. Recently they just brought in the Skynet Law here in New Zealand.....did it have the effect they wanted, to a certain degree yes it did BUT ISP companies lost money hand over foot as people no longer needed their big package broadband plans and those who knew how to install and use VPN's carried on as if nothing had happened. Just like our Skynet law, the innocent will be the ones who are punished, while those who the law is suppose to target will carry on as if nothing happened.

I wouldn't want to think what would happen to IM industry. Imagine if Paypal blocked Clickbank

I am not in the USA pal!

I noticed that the poll at the top of this post is 50%-50%!!!! it should be 100% that "you have voiced your opinion"!

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