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No, I don't mean soup in Spanish. I'm talking about the Stop Online Piracy Act currently trying to get passed in America.
OK, so there's a bunch of wealthy politicians trying to pass a law that will surely help them make a lot more money than they already have, WHAT'S IT TO ME!? Well, it turns out that if they pass this law, as it's been currently proposed , it may affect how you use (or rather not to use) the Web each day!
SOPA is a bill that aims to give government the right to demand websites to remove any content posted in violation of copyright of any other person or company. Sounds good on paper right? But there is much ambiguity in the wording of this law, and this could become a powerful tool for record labels, movie studios and television networks, to name a few.
Imagine this, you have a beautiful 8 year old girl who loves the songs of Justin Bieber. So much so that she memorized the lyrics and dance moves of several songs. You love your daughter and want to share with the world how talented she is, so you decide to film her singing and dancing and upload the video to YouTube. ALERT! ! You just uploaded a song of Bieber without the consent of his record label! Under the rules of SOPA, the U.S. government has the power to demand that YouTube removes the video of your precious darling, demand Google and Yahoo to remove your video from any search results, and even give the record label the right to sue you! All because your little princess dances and sings so well you decided to share it with the world.
Let me just say, I agree that authors are entitled to protect their work against plagiarism, it has taken them time and effort (in most cases) to create their work, and it would be unfair for someone else to use them for profit without paying their royalties. But please, let's not go to extremes! That is, what will happen to people who earn a living reviewing movies on the web? Farewell business! What if you update your profile picture on Facebook and it just so happens that in your hand you have a book and we can clearly read the cover? Profile blocked?
For those who live outside the United States, this represents a further injustice. If I recorded my video and shared it outside the U.S., what right do they have to take it down?
For now, all we can do is be aware of the news and wait. If you live in the U.S. or have (legal) relatives there, you can ask them to write their representatives and demand that this law be revised and modified to avoid violating one of our most basic rights: freedom of expression.
Yours truly, JoseQ
OK, so there's a bunch of wealthy politicians trying to pass a law that will surely help them make a lot more money than they already have, WHAT'S IT TO ME!? Well, it turns out that if they pass this law, as it's been currently proposed , it may affect how you use (or rather not to use) the Web each day!
SOPA is a bill that aims to give government the right to demand websites to remove any content posted in violation of copyright of any other person or company. Sounds good on paper right? But there is much ambiguity in the wording of this law, and this could become a powerful tool for record labels, movie studios and television networks, to name a few.
Imagine this, you have a beautiful 8 year old girl who loves the songs of Justin Bieber. So much so that she memorized the lyrics and dance moves of several songs. You love your daughter and want to share with the world how talented she is, so you decide to film her singing and dancing and upload the video to YouTube. ALERT! ! You just uploaded a song of Bieber without the consent of his record label! Under the rules of SOPA, the U.S. government has the power to demand that YouTube removes the video of your precious darling, demand Google and Yahoo to remove your video from any search results, and even give the record label the right to sue you! All because your little princess dances and sings so well you decided to share it with the world.
Let me just say, I agree that authors are entitled to protect their work against plagiarism, it has taken them time and effort (in most cases) to create their work, and it would be unfair for someone else to use them for profit without paying their royalties. But please, let's not go to extremes! That is, what will happen to people who earn a living reviewing movies on the web? Farewell business! What if you update your profile picture on Facebook and it just so happens that in your hand you have a book and we can clearly read the cover? Profile blocked?
For those who live outside the United States, this represents a further injustice. If I recorded my video and shared it outside the U.S., what right do they have to take it down?
For now, all we can do is be aware of the news and wait. If you live in the U.S. or have (legal) relatives there, you can ask them to write their representatives and demand that this law be revised and modified to avoid violating one of our most basic rights: freedom of expression.
Yours truly, JoseQ