Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.
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.
The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign
this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.
More about SOPA and PIPA
Members of Congress are trying to do the right thing by going after pirates and
counterfeiters but SOPA and PIPA are the wrong way to do it.
1. SOPA and PIPA would censor the Web
The U.S. government could order the blocking of sites using methods similar to those
employed by China. Among other things, search engines could be forced to delete entire
websites from their search results. That’s why 41 human
rights organizations and 110
prominent law professors have expressed grave concerns about the bills.
2. SOPA and PIPA would be job-killers because they would create a new era of uncertainty for American business
Law-abiding U.S. internet companies would have to monitor everything users link to or
upload or face the risk of time-consuming litigation. That’s why AOL, EBay, Facebook, Google,
IAC, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo and Zynga wrote a letter to Congress saying
these bills “pose a serious risk to our industry’s continued track record of innovation
and job-creation.” It’s also why 55 of
America’s most successful venture capitalists expressed concern that PIPA “would
stifle investment in Internet services, throttle innovation, and hurt American
competitiveness”. More than 204 entrepreneurs told Congress
that PIPA and SOPA would “hurt economic growth and chill innovation”.
3. SOPA and PIPA wouldn’t stop piracy
To make matters worse, SOPA and PIPA won’t even work. The censorship regulations
written into these bills won’t shut down pirate sites. These sites will just change
their addresses and continue their criminal activities, while law-abiding companies
will suffer high penalties for breaches they can’t possibly control.
There are effective ways to combat foreign “rogue” websites dedicated to copyright
infringement and trademark counterfeiting, while preserving the innovation and dynamism
that have made the Internet such an important driver of American economic growth and
job creation. Congress should consider alternatives like the OPEN Act, which takes targeted and focused steps to
cut off the money supply from foreign pirate sites without making US companies censor
the Web.
Watch live streaming video from democracynow at livestream.com
A
A rapidly growing community
Opposition to the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) grows
with each day. This brief list is just a sampling of businesses. Visit the Center for
Democracy and Technology’s list for a more complete look at the individuals,
organizations, experts and legislators that know how bad this legislation could be.
0 comments: