If you've been on the innernut this morning, you may have noticed screens like this:
As of midnight, Wikipedia is shut down for 24 hours, and hundreds of other popular websites have gone dark right along with it. They are standing together in protest of two controversial pieces of legislation that threaten Internet security and undermine the freedom of speech all in an effort to crack down on online “piracy” — the illegal distribution of copyrighted material.
Hollywood, the music industry, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have gone to bat on behalf of the proposed laws on the grounds that they will help protect valuable copyrighted property. And while the goal is laudable, the ends don’t justify the means. The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act have far-reaching consequences for the Internet’s infrastructure, individual liberties, and innovation in the digital age.
Under the laws, upon a court order, third-party companies and websites would be forced to crack down on rogue websites — and even ones that unwittingly host or link to material that may violate copyrights or trademarks, whether or not they have knowledge of the violation. Internet service providers would be required to block Internet addresses of offending sites — a measure that Internet engineers warn could threaten Internet security. Search engines would be prohibited from including pirate sites in search results, a requirement that goes well beyond current law and may, in fact, violate the First Amendment. Heritage’s James Gattuso and Paul Rosenzweig explain ramifications:
[L]imits on speech here are almost certain to be extended to other cases. If links to pirate sites are banned, why not links to sites disseminating national security secrets? Or sites “facilitating” violence by propagating extreme political positions? Moreover, other countries that have pursued content controls of their own, such as China, may be encouraged by steps in the U.S. to limit content....
Go to Google.com and CLICK on the link that says:
I struck out the 'please' not because we need to be impolite, but as a reminder that the United States Congress works for us and their job description is to represent the will of The People. It is not arrogant to tell them what to do; it is our role, our function, in what is left of this Republic.
Defend your First Amendment rights NOW, or kiss them good-bye. We've seen tremendous governmental overreach over these last years, but as my mother-in-law of blessed memory used to say, Enough is too much already.
Strength in numbers, boys and girls. Sign the petition on the right-hand side and distribute the link wherever you can. https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
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