Internet Censorship
Hardly rating a mention in the Australian news is one of the biggest stories of the century.
Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.
If these bills are passed, the internet as we know it would cease to exist.
The internet is about free flow of information and unfortunately, that comes with it good and bad. In attempting to curb piracy, legislators are looking to impose draconian laws that would see even the mention of copyright material in a review or comment, to be illegal. Piracy has always existed and these bills will not stop it, it will merely send piracy underground.
The seriousness of this legislation has not been underestimated by the internet's biggest players.
Google has a campaign End Piracy Not Liberty
Wikipedia has closed down content in protest, to raise awareness of the implications of this act. The Wikipedia site says,
Without Free Knowledge
For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. Learn more.
Many other sites are also joining the campaign. http://sopastrike.com/