Sense & censor ability: Congress defers SOPA vote....

From: Russia Today
Sense & censor ability: Congress defers SOPA vote
Published: 19 December, 2011, 10:16
Amid heated debates and the uproar surrounding the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, Congress has postponed its vote. Fears are growing that the law aimed at fighting copyright infringement will ultimately lead to censorship.

As the Obama team travels around the globe preaching the virtues of a free internet, US lawmakers are considering legislation that would make taking down the worldwide web as easy as a walk in the park. The government would be able shut down any website suspected of hosting copyright material, no court warrant needed.

Programmer and net activist Aaron Swartz says under the new law the government will not be taking down the infringing material; it will take down the site entirely.

"And it does it even without a trial, to find out whether it's illegal or not," he argued. "Copyright law is extremely complicated, there are lots of things that look like copyright infringement, but turn out to be licensed in one way or another. Even a site like YouTube that has mix of different kinds of content, under this bill the entire site can get shut down."

Companies like Google, Yahoo! and Facebook are furious over the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act. Google co-founder Sergey Brin compared the bill to censorship in China and Iran, saying: "Imagine my astonishment when the newest threat to free speech has come from none other but the United States."

Legendary computer scientist Vint Cerf -- widely hailed as one of the founders of the internet itself -- said the legislation has the potential to bring about unprecedented "censorship" of the web.
http://rt.com/news/sopa-congress-vote-postponed-113/
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SOPA hearings cast debate as old media vs. new media
Published: December 16 | Updated: Saturday, December 17, 11:00 AM

Congressional hearings over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) on Thursday highlighted the controversial nature of the bill. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle criticized each other sharply over differences in opinion on SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), as the bill is known. As Cecilia Kang reported:

In a raucous House debate on Thursday over a bill to stop piracy on the Internet, lawmakers representing the interests of old media and new media drew their swords in passionate attacks and counterattacks over the controversial proposal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/sopa-hearings-cast-debate-as-o...
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WTF is SOPA?

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | December 18, 2011, 9:52am PST

Summary: John "TotalBiscuit" Bain, a UK Law graduate, professional gaming commentator and journalist, has put together a great video on the subject of SOPA.

I'm getting an increasing number of questions relating to SOPA bill introduced in the House of Representatives on October 26, 2011. The subject is well outside of my domain, but John "TotalBiscuit" Bain, a UK law graduate, professional gaming commentator and journalist, has put together a great video on the subject.

I highly recommend that you take 22 minutes out of your day to listen to it.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/wtf-is-sopa/17336

Category:

Education

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• Sopa
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[Umbrokill99]

stop sopa, its a bad idea!

[Stringyheads]

This is outrageous no matter witch way you look at it. It will destroy alot of business and global trading. A Lot of business runs on YouTube alone sole traders rely on social websites like YouTube, Face Book, Twitter, etc.

[keely010]

say no to sopa !

[BlazinNSoul]

Hey guys Google Growing Chorus of Opposition to "Stop Online Piracy Act. It's the first link and be prepared to be shocked. This isn't a bill against copyright infringement. it is an attack on our very way of life. Spread the word and be heard!!

[supra1981]

Team America world police, if America wants to censor their public thats up to them but leave the rest of the world out of it.