STOP SOPA

Litbrit and Jim Johnson have blacked out their blogs in protest of SOPA. The English edition of Wikipedia is taking part in the black out. Johnson talked about the black out with Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times.

All five people who hit my website in a day probably won't be disappointed enough to call their Congressman," admitted Johnson, a software consultant for a Tampa firm. "But Wikipedia has enough clout that they can get everyone involved."

SOPA and PIPA is an government overreach of the internet supported by people like Ruport Murdoch. Media moguls such as Murdoch would benefit from the government. An internet provider could decide to take any web site off its search engine under the claim that site is hosting pirated content. No proof is needed on the part of Google. Fortunately, Google is against the current forms of the SOPA and PIPA bills.

The legislation is unenforcibly. I cannot image Twitter and Facebook going through millions of updates looking for pirated content to delete. It is not possible. This is legislation created by members of Congress who have no understanding of just how vast and complex the internet is.

The protest is working: Sen. Marco Rubio has pulled his support of PIPA.

I have decided to withdraw my support for the Protect IP Act. Furthermore, I encourage Senator Reid to abandon his plan to rush the bill to the floor. Instead, we should take more time to address the concerns raised by all sides, and come up with new legislation that addresses internet piracy while protecting free and open access to the internet.

Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) and Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) have dropped their support for SOPA.

When the going gets tough politicians fold. Rubio, Terry and Quayle have not suddenly become fans of free speech. They are scared of voter backlash against the bills. Politicians want campaign donations from movie and music corporations. Campaign dollars don't mean a thing if they cannot get re-elected.

Side note: Rubio, Terry and Quayle are suppose to be less government conservatives. Internet piracy is already illegal. How is it conservative to make unenforcable laws that could have a financially negative impact on Google, Pay Pal and MSN conservative? The answer is it isn't. The wise thing to do is hire more federal government employees to enforce the anti-piracy laws that are already in place.

Update: There was a SOPA protest outside the offices of Sen. Charles Schumer or Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

Andrew Rasiej, chairman of the New York Tech Meetup, told the New York Daily News that not only would SOPA and PIPA open the door to censorship of the Internet, but the laws would also have negative effects on the ability of the U.S. to remain a leader in the global tech industry.

"Because a new innovation by a start-up could be interpreted by a judge unfamiliar with how the technology works as infringing on copyright, investors and entrepreneurs would be discouraged from moving forward with a start-up due to a significantly increased risk of legal entanglement," Rasiej told the New York Daily News. "This in turn would dampen job creation and future opportunities for New Yorkers and Americans as a whole."

Schumer and Gillibrand are the co-sponsors of PIPA.

The Young Turks on Ruport Murdoch's support of SOPA.



Update: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted why he is against SOPA and PIPA.

The internet is the most powerful tool we have for creating a more open and connected world. We can't let poorly thought out laws get in the way of the internet's development. Facebook opposes SOPA and PIPA, and we will continue to oppose any laws that will hurt the internet. The world today needs political leaders who are pro-internet. We have been working with many of these folks for months on better alternatives to these current proposals. I encourage you to learn more about these issues and tell your congressmen that you want them to be pro-internet. You can read more about our views here: https://www.facebook.com/FacebookDC?sk=app_329139750453932.

There are some people angry that Zuckerberg didn't shut down Facebook for the day like Wikipedia. However, that is an inside the internet story.

Update: Matt Yglesias tweeted this.

Obama campaign just sent out an anti-SOPA fundraising email. #bandwagoning

President Obama wouldn't send out that email unless it was safe to oppose SOPA. It's official. People hate SOPA and PIPA. Politicians are running away from this legislation.

Update: Elizabeth Warren released a statement pertaining to SOPA and PIPA.

Illegal piracy should be punished, but I have serious concerns with SOPA and PIPA. We need to deal with piracy without chilling the innovation, diversity, and free exchange of ideas that define the Internet and have shaped our increasingly interconnected world.

Update: Daily Kos has a SOPA petition you can send to your Senator.

Update: President Barack Obama has come out against SOPA.

On Saturday, the White House announced that the Obama administration will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression or undermines the dynamic, innovative global internet.

As Congress works to address the very real issue of online piracy, we must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity—and we must not inhibit innovation by businesses large and small.

Online piracy hurts our economy, threatens middle-class jobs, and undermines the work of some of our most creative companies and entrepreneurs. The President has called on all parties to work together to find solutions that address the problem of online piracy while remaining true to our values.

Update Video of State of Sunshine blogger Jom Johnson being interviewed on Action News.