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The Internet is great in large part because it is essentially the 21st century’s wild west — an infinite expanse of unchartered territory wherein a person can largely be whoever they want and do whatever they want with very little restriction. That’s why the Internet is such a hot spot of cultural growth and general innovation — it affords users the sort of unbridled freedom that allows them to do the sorts of incredible things that they cannot do so readily in the outside world. But this freedom could be drastically curtailed if the House‘s Stop Online Piracy Act and the Senate’s Protect IP Act are passed. These acts are designed with major media corporations in mind, and they give those corporations far too much power. Under SOPA, copyright holders — think The Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America — would have the ability to team up with law authorities in order to block websites that supposedly infringe upon copyright.
The major problem with SOPA is that — while it may have good intentions protecting copyrights — it goes too far in pursuing its goal. Because of the power it grants copyright holders and law enforcement officials, all sorts of websites are in trouble — blogs, search engines and web stores are all at risk. It isn’t only the little guys on the Internet who would suffer under the censorship of SOPA and Protect IP. Even major web companies are opposed to the acts on the grounds that they would fundamentally damage how the Internet works, thus interfering with innovation and security. Google and Facebook have both spoken out against the acts. When two such online giants decry the negative aspects of a potential Internet reform, we should all take note. Here’s hoping that Congress and the Senate pay attention.
These acts prove that, yet again, the governing bodies of our nation are looking out for major corporations instead of the people. Opposition to SOPA and Protect IP is widespread and highly vocal. Major websites, such as Tumblr, are running links on their pages encouraging users to sign petitions and call their representatives. It should be clear, then, that these acts would bring nothing but harm to the Internet. We cannot give major media corporations a nearly totalitarian power to censor web pages. If we do, we lose the freedom that makes the Internet great in the first place.