On May 12, 2011 a law was proposed by Senator Patrick Leahy called Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) with the purpose of giving the U.S. government additional tools to preclude access to “rogue websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeit goods.” Another bill was also drafted similarly aspiring to fight against online piracy called Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). This House bill was proposed on Oct. 26, 2011 by Republican House Judiciary Committee Chair Representative Lamar S. Smith to further increase the U.S. law enforcement’s ability to prevent online copyrighting. The law would also take a step further and expand existing piracy laws to include even streaming of copyright material and imposing a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Even though these bills have not been passed, some of the amendments have already been put into effect with the removal of the popular website Megaupload that took place Jan. 19, 2012, following the indictment and arrest of its owners in New Zealand for allegedly operating as an organization dedicated to copyright infringement.
According to the Center For Democracy and Technology, the list of companies, organizations and notable individuals who are against the bills is over one-thousand strong as of Jan. 17, 2012. This includes eBay, Facebook, Mozilla, PayPal, Tumblr, Twitter, Yahoo!, American Express Company, American Library Association, American Society of News Editors and The New York Times Editorial, just to name a few. In a PCWorld article, these opponents say, with valid reasoning, that if the bills were passed it would be a “violation of free speech,” it would “threaten innovation” and it would “enable law enforcement to block access to entire Internet domains when only a single blog or web page is committing the crime.”
The Internet, as it stands now, has no centralized governance in either technological implementation or policies for access and usage and thus the U.S. government does not have direct control over it and should not attempt to do so. Additionally, the U.S. Congressional Budget Office estimated that implementation of the bills would cost the federal government $47 million through 2016 which is an unnecessary, ridiculous expense in present times.
Not surprisingly, and with due reason, protests began against the bills. To begin with, websites posted links and images about SOPA and PIPA and the injustices these flagrant bills are committing. Protests later developed into boycotts of companies that support the legislation, a rally held in New York City, phone calls and emails targeting congressmen to withdraw their support and a petition drive for which Google collected over seven-plus million signatures. The group Anonymous even uploaded various ominous videos on YouTube since the end of last year informing the public of SOPA and PIPA. In the videos, they say the bills are “a direct violation to people’s right to freedom of knowledge and information. And for that violation the United States government is a disgrace to the land of the free, the free that every United States soldier has fought or died for.” They then went on to introduce Operation Blackout and entreated the people to partake in it, saying, “If you speak, they have to listen. If they do not listen, their blatant disregard for the people will not go unnoticed and is not acceptable.”
On Jan. 18, 2012, Operation Blackout took effect when Wikipedia, Reddit and an estimated seven-thousand other smaller websites coordinated a 24-hour service blackout in an effort to raise awareness of these bills. Over 160 million people saw Wikipedia’s banner that spoke about the bill and explained the reason why it was blacked out that day.
In response to the protest actions, RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) stated, “It’s a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users and arm them with misinformation,” and “it’s very difficult to counter the misinformation when the disseminators also own the platform.”
In response to the protest actions, RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) stated, “It’s a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users and arm them with misinformation,” and “it’s very difficult to counter the misinformation when the disseminators also own the platform.”
As a result of these protests, many members of congress withdrew their support from these bills. Notably, the day after Operation Blackout took place, the number of supporters dropped from 80 to 65 and the number of opponents increased from 31 to 101.
This dramatic change, the protests and Anonymous’ threatening message did not go unnoticed by the government. On Jan. 20, 2012 Representative Lamar Smith postponed plans to draft the SOPA bill saying, “The committee remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation … The House Judiciary Committee will postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution.” He then continued to say, “…It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.” Likewise, according to a BBC News report, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, “in light of recent events”, delayed a vote on the Protect IP Act that was scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 24. It looks like they know when they have hit an impasse and have thrown down the towel; for now.
This dramatic change, the protests and Anonymous’ threatening message did not go unnoticed by the government. On Jan. 20, 2012 Representative Lamar Smith postponed plans to draft the SOPA bill saying, “The committee remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation … The House Judiciary Committee will postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution.” He then continued to say, “…It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.” Likewise, according to a BBC News report, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, “in light of recent events”, delayed a vote on the Protect IP Act that was scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 24. It looks like they know when they have hit an impasse and have thrown down the towel; for now.
Opponents of the bills are calling this a victory. If you go on Wikipedia now you can even see a message in the banner above every article saying, “Thank you for protecting Wikipedia. (We’re not done yet.)” Though I am not certain as to what Wikipedia may be referring to, I am sure that this will not be the end of the cyber battle between the government and the Internet. The Internet has become such an influential and important part of our society. Although it may have its negative or harmful effects, I believe that the government does not have the right and should not overstep its democratic boundaries and directly prevent us from using it, lest it begin to resemble a repressive government. Even though Operation Blackout did cause an inconvenience, especially among students who heavily rely on such sites as Wikipedia in order to do assignments, I do commend the strength and drive that the public had to rise up against laws which they considered unjust. Don’t get me wrong; I am not one who strives for anarchy, but I do believe in standing up in the face of injustice in order to protect one’s rights.
Paola Crespo can be reached at paola.crespo@spartans.ut.edu.