What is SOPA?

What is SOPA and how does it affect you?  SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act that is currently working it's way through Congress.  Sounds appealing, right?  Well, not so fast.  SOPA, if passed, puts power in the hands of the entertainment industry to censor sites that allegedly "engage in, enable or facilitate" copyright infringement.  These sites could include YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.  What it doesn't do is block individual IP addresses.  Every computer has a unique IP address (almost like a street address of a house).  If you happen to know the IP address of website's computer, then you can still access the pirated content.  So, in essence, the bill does nothing but censor websites yet still allow online piracy.  Censorship is a touch subject for librarians, especially cybrarians (tech-savvy librarians) like me.  What can you do to stop this bill.  Call your congressman (http://www.contactingthecongress.org/) or write your congressman (http://americancensorship.org/).  For more information about the bill, go to <http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/112%20HR%203261.pdf>.  

 

I don't usually post political stuff (my wife is always telling me to knock it off about that), but this bill isn't very well known yet can affect all of you.