The government can order service providers to block websites for infringing links posted by any users.
It becomes a felony with a potential 5 year sentence to stream a copyrighted work that would cost more than $2,500 to license, even if you are a totally noncommercial user, e.g. singing a pop song on Facebook.
Thousands of sites that are legal under the DMCA would face new legal threats. People trying to keep the internet more secure wouldn't be able to rely on the integrity of the DNS system.
How you can help
On Wednesday 11/16 there will be an Internet-wide day of protest against the Internet Blacklist bill. Can you participate?
Email us to add you to the list of participating sites:
Simply include this image link code in the html for your site. A black censored bar will appear. Use the absolute positioning parameters to place the bar over your logo. Use width and height parameters to fit it to your site. That's it! You can also modify our image yourself if you prefer, and link to the same URL that appears in the code above.
This 'stop censorship' message leads to a page where users will contact their congressional representatives. Here's how it looks:
Watch and then share this video
Read what the experts have to say in the quotes below
Read these articles
Check out the Infographic:
Full list coming soon...
"These bills were written by the content industry without any input from the technology industry. And they are trying to fast track them through congress and into law without any negotiation with the technology industry."
- Fred Wilson (Union Square Ventures)
"SOPA, regrettably, represents a big step backward in Washington's efforts to support the digital revolution, one of the only sectors of the economy that continues to grow."
- Larry Downes (TechFreedom)
"[SOPA would] overturn the long-accepted principles and practices [of the DMCA] in favor of a one-sided enforcement mechanism that is far more broad than existing law while not attempting to protect the rights of anyone accused of copyright infringement."
- Gigi B. Sohn (President of Public Knowledge)
"It contains provisions that will chill innovation. It contains provisions that will tinker with the fundamental fabric of the internet. It gives private corporations the power to censor. And best of all, it bypasses due legal process to do much of it."
- James Allworth (Harvard Business School)
"The main "enforcement" mechanism in these bills is to put liability on third party service providers coming from the tech industry, undermining the safe harbors of the DMCA and the legal framework that has allowed tons of important internet platforms to evolve."
- Mike Masnick (TechDirt)"This is a move that threatens, rather than protects, property rights, and also threatens America's Internet and tech leadership."
- Neil Stevens (RedState.com)
