Join Us in Protest Against SOPA and PIPA

SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act)/PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act)  are meant to protect intellectual property and copyrights by giving the US Department of Justice the ability to blacklist any offending IP addresses that are suspected of piracy or copyright infringement.

Many big online names such as Reddit, Wikipedia, and BoingBoing will be going dark in protest. Others including Google, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, have vocally opposed the proposed legislation, but have not said if they will be joining in.

Blog Four Paws will be joining.

How can something that supposed to stop piracy affect blogs?

Edie from Will my dog hate me posted it in terms many of us can understand: “I posted a video in my Pet Adoption Videos that Don’t Make Me Want to Kill Myself series with Abba music in it.  The video was pulled because the shelter didn’t have permission to use the song. Ok.  But the new law, if passed as written, would allow Abba’s publishers to sue You Tube for hosting the video to begin with and could shut down my blog for reposting it.”

Because of the way these bills are written, they make it unclear as to what the government can deem as an infringing website. It will allow the government to censor and shut down any website/blog it sees fit.

Please Join the Blackout Petition and contact your representative and tell them to vote NO on SOPA and Protect IP.

For additional ways to join the protest of SOPA/Protect IP: Savvy Blogging has some great links and resources.

Photo courtesy: TechCrunch
Video Courtesy:  Fight for the Future

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