SOPA and PIPA

I will be updating soon, I promise, but I wanted to share this video today because it’s important right now, and, well, because if this gets passed, there may not be any more sharing of YouTube videos . . .

I agree that there needs to be something in place to protect intellectual property, and I’m completely in favor of enforcing (and respecting) copyright laws.  This isn’t the way to do it, though.  In my opinion, it’s like canceling recess for the entire class because Little Johnny misbehaved, or taking away everyone’s cars because there are people out there who drive while intoxicated.

Or, more aptly, by making search engines, internet service providers, payment facilitators, and online advertising networks responsible for barring sites that enable or facilitate copyright infringement, SOPA would be like . . . if a person has a restraining order against them or is on probation and is not allowed out of their state, and law enforcement were to hold the bus driver or cab driver accountable for dropping them off in a place they weren’t supposed to go, or made the owner of a gas station responsible, for allowing them to fill up so they could drive to a forbidden location.  If bus lines and cab companies and gas stations, etc., had to run a background check on each of their passengers or customers, which would be time-consuming and expensive, not to mention a huge privacy infringement, they would eventually go out of business and nobody would have public transportation or fuel for their own vehicles.  Just as an example.

The “solution” can cause more problems than the problem it’s supposed to fix, even though I agree that the problem does need to be fixed.  Just not this way.

Will be back soon. Going to write my representatives now.

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