What is SOPA and what will happen if it’s passed?

You may have heard that Wikipedia have shut up shop for the day, if not just head to the site and you’ll see the above. Why? SOPA, otherwise known as The Stop Online Piracy Act and it’s sister, the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

Wikipedia isn’t alone, sites including Reddit, WordPress and TwitPic are taking part in the “internet blackout”, whilst Google has dedicated its famous “doodle” to the cause – with the message “Tell Congress: Please don’t censor the web”. Powerhouses Facebook and Twitter both oppose the legislation but have decided not to take part in today’s protest.

With all this talk, we thought we’d explain all, so what actually is SOPA? What will happen if it’s passed? And why are some people for it, and some against?

What is SOPA?

• SOPA stands for The Stop Online Piracy Act
• The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is already in place and protects copyrighted material, focusing on unauthorised content on the web. SOPA and PIPA will clamp down and punish the platform instead – the sites that host the content
• Although it is US-based, most of our favourite social networks or websites are registered and located in the US – Facebook, Twitter etc etc – meaning the acts would have worldwide implications
• SOPA and PIPA would allow the Justice Dept. to investigate and ultimately punish – which could mean closing them down – rogue websites, forcing US-based companies to cut all ties with the platform – from credit card companies to advertisers

Why people are for it…

• Content-creating industries, such as music and film, want SOPA and PIPA to come into play to combat Internet piracy, which is threatening their livelihood
• SOPA and PIPA would help bring an end to overseas websites operating outside of US law, quashing illegitimate Internet activity

Why are people against it…

• Internet companies oppose both acts as it threatens their corporate interests and the www industry
• The internet’s history of innovation and small business becoming BIG business is under threat. Start-up companies would not be in a position financially to protect themselves against violations, unlike major organisations
• Although the legislation is targeted at foreign pirates, the law will leave everyone liable to prosecution
• Sites will need constant monitoring, although they wouldn’t be legally be obliged to, in order to avoid the possibility of being punished or sued
• Many argue economic growth could be stifled and censorship would remove the public’s freedom of speech

What will happen if SOPA/PIPA is passed?

Sites will be responsible for all content… including user comments. So if something you say is deemed to breach SOPA/PIPA on Facebook, Facebook would be liable. This would be a major problem for the World’s biggest social network, as you can imagine

If you blog, you’d be responsible for ensuring all content is legitimate. If it’s not, you’ll be in trouble!

You would stop websites such as Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr… the list goes on… coming to fruition. Online innovation would cease to exist.

If you film your child singing a well-known song or film yourself doing the same thing, then post it on YouTube… well. You get the idea

In the name of impartiality, the benefits of SOPA/PIPA for the content-creating industries include more stability financially – keeping people in employment – without pirates taking a chunk of profits and prevents criminality to a degree – all respectable reasons but at what cost?

 

What’s next?

• January 24th, the Senate will hold a procedural vote on PIPA
• Supporters of SOPA are expected to continue work on the bill in February
• An alternative, the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN) is expected to be brought to the table soon – it will remove the Justice Dept’s involvement in policing piracy

We’re a full service social media agency. Check us out on Twitter and hook up on Facebook. Please leave your comments below. . .

No related posts.