Oppose Internet censorship

basil

Παλαιό Μέλος
Dear forum,

Please excuse my intrusion with an off-topic message. Today, thousands of web sites are going dark to raise awareness of two bills in the United States of America: House Bill 3261 "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) and Senate Bill 968 "PROTECT IP Act" (PIPA), which could radically change the landscape of the Internet. These bills provide overly broad mechanisms for the enforcement of copyright that could restrict innovation and threaten the existence of web sites with user-submitted content, such as Psaltologion, by making them liable for their users' posts. Even though many members of this forum live outside the United States, the forum itself is hosted in the United States and is therefore subject to United States law.

The criticisms of SOPA and PIPA are many. These bills will not stop the piracy they are targeting. Furthermore, they contain language that is highly ambiguous and extremely broad, making them ripe for abuse. Finally, they enforce harmful censorship on what should be a free and open Internet.

Please take some time today to learn about these destructive bills and do what you can to prevent them from becoming reality. If you live in the United States, consider calling your senators and congressmen to express your opposition to SOPA and PIPA and all their provisions. Detailed information, talking points, and phone numbers are available on several web sites.

If you live outside the United States, consider turning your attention towards other over-zealous copyright bills in your country. One such bill is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a similar agreement between Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States. It is criticized for many of the same reasons that PROTECT IP and SOPA are but is also concerning because it has been drafted in secret.

Basil
 

Dimitri

Δημήτρης Κουμπαρούλης, Administrator
Staff member
Dear Basil, it is not so off topic as any developments are likely to affect the forum as well. I am following the case as closely as I can.
 
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