PRO/CON
CON (Maryanne Shults)
Stop shoving your SOPA down my PIPA. If I create a unique work, only to discover that a website hosted outside the U.S. is infringing on my copyright, there’s no legal recourse because it’s outside the nation’s jurisdiction. Yes, I’d be a bit upset. It’s intellectual property theft.
So, in steps the self-proclaimed heroes, the U.S. Senate and House who draft acts to allegedly protect those rights. However, the problem is the wording is too vague and overly broad , using terms such as “enables” and “facilitates.”
The issue lies with the government going after anyone it considers an enabler of perceived online piracy. For example, I wouldn’t fault Google or Bing for doing their jobs as search engines, or PayPal for collecting funds. Why? They were established to make an online presence accessible and to reach its goals. To make matters worse, if I write a blog posting casually mentioning a Canadian website that sells pharmaceuticals or a Russian website hosting music one can download, am I liable as an “enabler.”
“Shoot first, think later,” is what online educator and entrepreneur Salman Khan called these policies in a video posted on YouTube where he walks the casual inquirer through the “what is” about the convoluted issue involving the SOPA/PIPA legislation.
Come on legislators, don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Look at the bigger picture before you put your pen to paper thinking you will save my rights.
PRO (Nicole Bullard)
The Stop Online Piracy Act was brought into light by U.S. Representative Lamar S. Smith, and the act will help provide a safer environment for those worried about copyright.
SOPA is to protect the integrity of online intellectual property, in every way possible. Some concerns of this are that there will be no freedom and a higher prosecution for the innoecent.
But in the terms of copyright there is no justice in allowing property to be stolen online, and SOPA protects the rights of intellectual property holder.
The bill is intended to focus on the piracy of foreign websites. The objective is to be able to get rid of pirated material.
The question is- why are so many people protesting against SOPA when it will help keep online integrity clean and free of piracy? According to The Dysfunction Junction website, SOPA will make it easier for the government to pursue copyright violations that occur on the web and to prosecute those who sell counterfeit goods online.
SOPA will help regulate according to regulations imposed by the government. This bill will prevent scams and frauds, creating a safer online environment.