I guess Congress is trying once again to pass laws that would make the Internet no longer free. These laws are being pushed by lobbyists for large media corporations such as Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, media providers and providers associations like the Recording Industry Association of America, credit card companies and even Nike, a maker of athletic shoes.
I don't have time here to spell out all the provisions of these laws, but I can say that if they pass, I stand to save a ton of money. It's very simple, really. I will find other ways to communicate with friends and sympathetic acquaintances. Then I will cancel my Verizon internet access account. My contract has already expired, so I can't be penalized.
That's it.
So go ahead. Make my day.
Hi.
ReplyDeleteCould you say more about your concerns about the Internet remaining "free"? Is this "free to use", "freedom of information" or "free of charge"..? I've only read a couple of things that try to explain the intent of the proposed legislation, but not much on the side effects to consumers.
Keep up the good work.
Hello ha1ku. Haven't heard from you in a long time.
ReplyDeletePIPA and SOPA are "anti-piracy" bills written ostensibly to protect the intellectual property of U.S. corporations from copyright infringement by foreign websites, manufacturers and other entities.
While I do not condone counterfeiting or stealing the ideas of others, I am opposed to PIPA and SOPA because of the provisions in these bills that would allow corporations to indiscriminately censor websites simply by applying for court orders to shut down sites that, in their opinion, "facilitate" copyright infringement. The definition of "facilitating copyright infringement" is broad enough to allow corporations to censor any website that they perceived to be an economic threat to them.
Many website owners would therefore have to drastically restrict the information on their sites in order to avoid extremely costly legal action or shut-downs of their sites.
Copyright protections were originally created as a reasonable safeguard of the rights of inventors and creators. However, these protections have been drastically perverted over the last several decades. Lawrence Lessig details this perversion in his book, "Free Culture."