Say NO to SOPA & PIPA

Posted by Kolchak on January 18, 2012.

If you’ve visited Kol’s Notes today, you might have noticed that we’ve gone black.

You can see the shadow of what our site once was, but you can’t access our content. Instead, you’re seeing a message about the dangers of SOPA & PIPA, two bills that threaten the way the internet works.

I’m going to let humans way smarter than the Mama explain it to you.

For me, the scary thing about SOPA & PIPA is that your blog or site could be removed from Google search results, removed from advertising platforms, banned from accepting/receiving PayPal monies without due process.

All it could take would be a letter from the copyright holder stating that they held “a good faith belief” that their rights were being infringed and action could be taken against you. No need to get a judge to sign off. No need to prove the infringement. Just file a complaint and it could happen. Posts like my blogoversary post, my Pinterest post, or my first Blog the Change post could mean that with a single complaint, Kol’s Notes could be off the web, permanently. As a small blogger, I would not have the time, funds or ability to fight this. As a Canadian, I may not even have the right to fight it.

Too many conflicts of interest.

The language of these bills is so vague that it leaves far too much to questions and uncertainties. It leaves the power too much to the entertainment industries. It leaves the door open for this law to be abused by those in power. Gizmodo posted an interesting article on why this is so dangerous.

Potential for abuse is rampant. As Public Knowledge points out, Google could easily take it upon itself to delist every viral video site on the internet with a “good faith belief” that they’re hosting copyrighted material. Leaving YouTube as the only major video portal. Comcast (an ISP) owns NBC (a content provider). Think they might have an interest in shuttering some rival domains? Under SOPA, they can do it without even asking for permission. – Gizmodo.com

The internet needs protection from pirates, but not at the expense of freedom.

Please help us speak out against SOPA and it’s evil step-sister PIPA. Go to americancensorship.org for a few easy ways to let YOUR voice be heard.

We’ll be back tomorrow with all sorts of fun from Kol’s Notes and hopefully we’ll be around for a long time. Let’s let freedom ring, y’all.

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