Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Guys, this is actually kind of important.

Arrrr, mateys. Piracy is bad, but censorship is worse.


So, you may have heard about SOPA/PIPA. No, it's not a Mexican dish. Trust me, I was just as disappointed as you are to find that out.

SOPA and PIPA are proposed bills that are meant to help fight online piracy. That sounds good, right? It is. Except, this is the US government we're talking about. Our government is the master of taking something good and fracking it all up.

If either is passed, the US government will have the power to--without trial or legal recourse--block any website it feels infringes in any way on a copyright. And we're not just talking about one individual site--we're talking the host as well.

For example, the title of my last post was "Crow: The other white meat." Anyone who has seen TV in the past 20 years knows that that was a play on the slogan for pork ("Pork: The other white meat"). If the people on the Pork Council [I dare you to say Pork Council out loud without giggling] decided that my title was somehow harmful to them or taking away their income, they could file a complaint.

The government would then have the power to not only block this blog, but ALL OF BLOGSPOT. All because my title is sorta kinda like the pork slogan.

And legally there is little that could be done if that happened.

Here's a video by some of your favorite internet people about what the bills mean and how they could--and WILL-- affect you.



And HERE'S a post from my internet boyfriend, Wil Wheaton, about it. I like his take on it because he is one of the people this bill is meant to protect.

Oh, and check out The Oatmeal, too. Just for the giggles.

This isn't some internet panic over something not likely to happen. These are real bills with millions of dollars in backing from the movie and music industries. They will be voted on in six days.

The internet is where I live. It's where my friends live. I will pretty much cease to exist if blogs and Facebook go away.

Contact your congressmen. Tell them to vote NO on SOPA/PIPA.

Do it for the internet. Do it for me. Do it for the kittens.

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