SOPA PIPA Wikipedia blackout

As I was searching in Google for some info, I happened to click on Wikipedia and when the page loaded, it has a message that Wikipedia is blacking out for 24 hrs to raise awareness on the bill that is to be passed to congress within a week. Does this bill has any influence on us internet marketers? I think it will have but how severe will it damage the industry?

 

I'd like to know that too.

 

lol google it and read the bill

 

if it is passed, it means government will be able to control the content on the internet as well as regulate internet user's activities... given that the internet is a global entity, if US government is given some power to regulate it, it could be the starting point for US government to exercise its influence and power in the virtual world... they have already achieved that in the real physical world

 

This goes beyond Internet Marketers. The bills try to put the focus on being to combat pirates (stealing from Hollywood), being a way to deny access to websites that can't be shut down because they are in countries that do not follow the current US laws to protect IP (intellectual property) such as the DMCA. In reality, they do a whole lot more that threatens not only online businesses and Internet Marketers, but individuals. The bill would directly impact freedom of speech and give a small group control over what Americans see on the Internet, a very anti-American thing to do.

The worst part is that, while the backers of the bills keep saying it will stop piracy, it wouldn't stop piracy. As an Internet Marketer, the part you should be scared of is that someone could make a decision that shuts down your website traffic from the US. Another part that you may want to worry about is that sites like YT, FB, and Twitter that are based overseas, which you could be using to help drive traffic, might become inaccessible to Americans (at least your normal users who don't go looking for a workaround).

Where you should really be worried though is that if these bills made it to laws, it would be a serious violation of personal freedom, freedom of speech, and the Bill of Rights. Not an American? How long until your country jumps on board (assuming you aren't located in China, N Korea, Iran, or another country where you already have a heavily censored Internet)?

SOPA and PIPA both have been losing support and seeing the public start to gain awareness of how wrong these bills are. They are a lazy way to give big companies control of what Americans see on the Internet. While neither looks like it would pass (the Whitehouse already said that the current bills would not be signed into law by Obama if they did happen to get enough votes in Congress), it is scary to think that these things were even under consideration by lawmakers. If you are in the US, read up on them, decide your stance, and contact your local Senator/Representatives to let them know how you feel. If you are outside the US, do the same as if you were an American, except contact your local government official(s) and let them know that you want your opinion known so they can deliver the message to the US lawmakers on a global scale.

There is nothing wrong the idea of helping stop piracy, as long as it is done in a way that doesn't; threaten the security of the Internet, infringe on Constitutional rights and personal freedoms, and doesn't hand such unchecked power to wealthy companies. The fact that something like SOPA/PIPA could be made a law, something that affects almost the entire population of the US, and doesn't require a public vote, is just a testament to how messed up the US government is and how scared we should be at the power it has.

One thing that may not affect Internet Marketers, but will definitely be a concern for the average Internet user (who sadly doesn't seem to know what is happening), is that if you did something like make a video and there was a TV on in the background (even just hearing it very softly with sound cranked) and then posted that video online, you could do 5 years in prison for it. That is just perverse abuse of power by politicians and the companies that have been pushing this thing. Even if you are not going to be recording yourself anytime soon, do you have a child, or might you have one some day, who records themselves dancing or singing to a song by their favorite band/artist? Since you are their parent, you are considered responsible for their actions, their actions in making a video for fun with a song they love that could land you in jail and/or paying a fine.

Something very disturbing that I have noticed from these bills is that they haven't gotten much attention in the news. News companies are owned by companies that make other things, such as music, TV, or movies. These are the companies backing the bills, the companies that control what we see when we watch the news. When either of these bills are discussed, they get a sugar coating put on them many times, making opposition seem like criminals and crazed activists. When I first explained these bills to my parents, I wasn't surprised to find out how little they actually knew after seeing them on the news, or that they were not concerned over receiving none of the truly alarming information from the news. My parents almost never use computers for Internet use, but they are 100% against these after they found out what SOPA/PIPA would allow to happen.

There are already some alternatives being worked on, so hopefully we can get past these disgusting bills and work on making something that will help with piracy while not overstepping like SOPA/PIPA did. The fact that these were ever considered though is just scary to me.

Now off the topic of SOPA/PIPA, when you go to Wikipedia, you should see the page load before it goes black. You can hit escape as you see it load and it will prevent the black page from replacing what you were trying to look at.

Take a look at AmericanCensorship.org for more info.

 

this bill is bad news ....

Watch this video[video=vimeo;31100268]http://vimeo.com/31100268[/video]

The video above discusses the Senate version of the House's Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). In the Senate the bill is called the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). SOPA has gotten more attention than PIPA because it was moving faster in the legislative process. But PIPA is just as dangerous, and now it is moving faster.

PIPA would give the government new powers to block Americans' access websites that corporations don't like. The bill lets corporations and the US government censor entire websites and cut sites off from advertising, payments and donations.

This legislation will stifle free speech and innovation, and even threaten popular web services like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

The bill is scheduled for a test vote in the Senate on Jan. 24th: We need to act now to let our lawmakers know just how terrible it is.

 

I think SOPA and PIPA is for political purpose only. It will be bad if these bill are being passed by US government. Our make money online struggling will become harder, we need to prevent this bill from being passed.

 

you know that sopa and PIPA ARE used only for the special people on the govt job persons that's why common man can't open these.

 

What? What are you talking about? If SOPA and PIPA passed, the Internet would be changed dramatically. Your average Internet use would certainly notice the difference between a pre and post SOPA and PIPA Internet.

 

The bill would affect all aspects of the internet, even marketing

 

It's really a bad news if someone regulates the internet content.

 

Sorry man, I won't to rude you, just want to explain what I mean with "political purpose only" is SOPA and PIPA being used as a mask to reach political purpose.

 

I'm glad this happened. I realized that many of my friends and all of my family had no idea what sopa even was. Its good that the public is finally being made aware of these terrible bills/laws being considered.

 

Many websites participated in the protest. Here is a complete list of all major websites took part in SOPA blackout.

 

My friends are write true because only position are making vote bank either India or USA. Indian government want to ban Google, Facebook, Twitter etc only for vote bank. They don't know more then 100 million people are working or making money from Google, Facebook or twitter and if they ban they come on the road.

thanks

 

It will have a great deal of effect on internet marketing, and the changes will not be good at all.