As many of you know yesterday was SOPA/PIPA (Stop Online Piracy Act/Protect IP Act) internet Blackout Day. All across the web significant websites, (Google and Wikipedia to name just a few) in various ways, protested against these anti-piracy bills by going black or offering specific instructions on how visitors can protest.
No one is questioning that stealing and pirating digital content is wrong, however, it is clear that our politicians have no real working knowledge of how the web works. These bills, if passed, could very easily take Drumchattr down WITHOUT due process. One photo, link, or background song in a video would be all it would take for the content companies to shut us down.
So what about a compromise? How do we stop online piracy without breaking the internet? Before I would be willing to support a compromise, I would want specific proof that piracy actually hurts the large content creators. There is no such proof because the nature of the web disallows the gathering of such information. I attest that no effort to curb piracy by any government will be successful as pirates will always find a work around. Has anyone been able to fix “spam”?
WordPress, which went dark yesterday in protest, is the very platform that this NEW BUSINESS is built upon. Imagine what would happen to the blogosphere if these bills pass and WordPress.org gets censored.
In a stunning result, over 7 Million people signed a petition against these bills through Googles site alone. In one day, as a direct action to the extreme protests online, 13 congress representatives switched their stance from pro SOPA to anti SOPA, causing serious doubt that the bills will pass. While this is good news, it isn’t over yet. The large content creating industries in Hollywood will continue to push this forward. So, we must continue to act.
Please consider joining the ground swell by signing the petition, telling congress no it SOPA/PIPA. In the meantime check out these two videos, the above and below. They show great explanations of what is really at stake.
While this post features no drum or percussion content these issues are so important we felt the need to get the word out to our valued readers. Thanks for reading and for your continued support.
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.
Originally posted on DrummChattr.com on January 19, 2012.
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