We, the 99%, call upon our elected representatives to oppose censorship, and reject the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act.
SOPA and the Protect IP Act would make it possible for the federal government and judges to censor content on the Internet. The government would be given the power to block access to websites and to put websites on a DNS blacklist. Potentially, anything from Facebook to your friend’s blog could be shut down for possible “copyright infringement.” If SOPA becomes law, posting a video with any kind of copyrighted material could be considered a felony.
Civil rights groups, leading technology companies, and hundreds of law professors and lawyers oppose SOPA and the Protect IP Act. They recognize that these bills threaten to break the internet’s infrastructure and stifle the rights of people to freely express themselves. We know multinational corporations have spent lots of money lobbying our representatives to pass this legislation – legislation that is clearly counter to the interests of the 99%.
Over the last decade, digital information networks have made it possible for people around the world to communicate with each other more freely than ever before. We have begun to truly realize our shared humanity. But, the technology that has helped make this possible is not yet under our control. So far, that infrastructure has been operated with an eye toward liberty and justice; but, now we find that our rights to privacy, assembly, and speech in cyberspace are under attack.
We, the New York City General Assembly of #OccupyWallStreet, recognize the critical importance of a free and open internet. The openness of the internet and our right to free speech is threatened by SOPA and Protect IP. They must be stopped.
RESOURCES:
To check on the status of the bills:
SOPA: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3261/show
Protect IP: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/show
For more information visit:
http://vimeo.com/31100268
http://americancensorship.org/
https://www.eff.org/document/aclu-letter-sopa
LINKS:
PIPA’s January 24th Vote and How a Filibuster Works- Ernesto Falcon, Director of Government Affairs explains how the filibuster process works in Congress regarding PIPA. The public is encouraged to contact their Senators during this crucial time.
How a Bill Stays a Bill: The Story of SOPA and PIPA-Michael Weiberg explains how Public Knowledge has been instrumental in engaging the issue of COICA, SOPA and PIPA from its inception. This short video explains the origins of this legislation, the efforts by its proponents to push it through Congress and resistance encountered by the massive engagement of opponents.
Impressions on the SOPA Markup, Thursday Evening-Sherwin Siy discusses the lack of consideration for several proposed amendments during the recent SOPA markup up. Despite the lack of technical expertise on the committee, Congressional leaders approved few changes, leaving many of the damaging portions in place.
Playing With Numbers: Why SOPA Still Won’t Solve Internet Piracy- During a the Congressional hearing on SOPA, Representative Conyers stated that 25% of the Internet consists of copyright infringement. PK examined this number and researched the validity of this statement, concluding that it is an inflated estimate at best. One for which SOPA would still not be a viable solution.
PIPA v SOPA-Katy Tasker explains the differences between the House and Senate versions of this piece of legislation. Tasker explains while there are slight differences between the bills, the both contain detrimental implications for the Internet.
SOPA Hearing flawed as the bill itself-Martyn Griffen summarizes the House Judiciary’s Hearing on HR 3261, The Stop Online Piracy Act. The hearing consisted of a lop-sided panel, mostly in favor of this bill. While bi-partisan opposition does exist, the hearing was a disappointment for those expecting a fair dialogue.
Piracy is Bad for Business, But So is SOPA-Legal Intern Dana Smith explains how the passage of this bill would detrimental to Internet businesses and stifle entrepreneurship. Consequences that seriously outweigh the symptoms this bill attempts to remedy.
“House Version of Rogue Websites Bill Adds DMCA Bypass, Penalties for DNS Workarounds” – Sherwin Siy
Public Knowledge Deputy Legal Director Sherwin Siy summarizes the House Stop Online Piracy Act and illustrates the far-reaching provisions in the bill. Sherwin explains how the House bill fundamentally changes who could face liability for copyright infringement.
“SOPA and Section 1201: A Frightening Combination” – Jodie Griffin
Public Knowledge Staff Attorney Jodie Griffin writes a thorough analysis of how the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in conjunction with section 1201 of the Copyright Act creates an “ever-expanding net of liability” that could target individuals who are not infringing or even assisting copyright infringers. Additionally, Jodi explains how SOPA increases the risk for technology developers to come under attack from private parties without preliminary court hearings and provides recent examples.
“Copyright Does Not Trump Disability Rights Law” – Jodie Griffin
Jodie Griffin blogs about how the SOPA bill could pose a threat to closed captioning services by alleging copyright infringement, even though closed captioning is a fairuse. Additionally, Jodi gives two recent examples of how copyright owners would be able to invoke SOPA based off of unsupported legal conclusions.
“SOPA and the DMCA Safe Harbors” – Rashmi Rangnath
Rashmi Rangnath writes about the provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that exempt certain content hosts from being held liable for their users infringing activities. Rashmi also explains how the SOPA bill would undermine the provisions of the DMCA and which actors wouldsuffer the consequences from those new regulatory provisions.
“SOPA: Immunity for Net Neutrality Violations?” – Sherwin Siy
PK Deputy Legal Director Sherwin Siy discusses how the SOPA bill would provide a blanket immunity for almost anyone who cuts off a targeted site and how this immunity could be used by ISPs to circumvent net neutrality rules.
en Español
Declaración en contra de S.O.P.A. y P.I.P.A.
Nosotros, el 99%, hacemos un llamiento a nuestros representantes electos para oponerse a la censura, y rechazar el proyecto de ley Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) y la ley de protección de la propiedad intelectual (PIPA). SOPA y PIPA haría posible que el gobierno federal y los jueces a censurar contenidos en el Internet. Al gobierno se le daría el poder de bloquear el acceso a sitios del web y colocarlos a su antojo en una lista negra DNS. Potencialmente, cualquier cosa procedente como de Facebook hasta el blog de tu amigo podría ser cerrado por un posible "infracción de copyright". Si SOPA prospera como una ley, la publicación de un vídeo con cualquier tipo de material con derechos de autor podría ser considerado un delito grave. Los grupos de derechos civiles, empresas líderes en tecnología, y cientos de profesores de derecho y abogados se oponen a SOPA y PIPA. Ellos reconocen que estos proyectos de ley amenazan con romper la infraestructura de Internet y reprimir los derechos de las personas a expresarse libremente. Sabemos que las corporaciones multinacionales han gastado mucho dinero presionando a nuestros representantes para aprobar esta legislación. Y tal legislación esta claramente en contra de los intereses del 99%. A través de la última decada, las redes digitales de información han hecho posible que personas de todo el mundo pueden comunicarse entre sí con más libertad que jamas ha existido. Apenas hemos comenzado a realizar de verdad, nuestra humanidad compartida. Sin embargo, la tecnología que nos ha ayudado a que esto sea posible no es todavía bajo nuestro control. Hasta ahora, la infraestructura ha trabajado con un ojo hacia la libertad y la justicia, pero, ahora nos encontramos con que nuestros derechos a la intimidad, reunión y expresión en el ciberespacio están bajo ataque. Nosotros La Asamblea General de la Ciudad de Nueva York de #Occupy Wall Street, reconocemos la importancia fundamental de un internet libre y abierto. El carácter abierto del Internet y nuestro derecho a la libertad de expresión se ve amenazada por SOPA y PIPA. Deben ser parados.