Do you like reading fan fiction? Are you a member of Deviant Art? Do you like watching YouTube clips of Glee? If so, then you need to say NO to SOPA and PIPA.
What Is SOPA/PIPA?
The United States Congress is proposing two laws that address the problem of wide-scale unlicensed distribution on the Internet of motion pictures, songs, trademarked goods, and patented pharmaceuticals.
- SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) would direct search engines in the United States to block Internet sites outside the United States that are primarily engaged in distributing unlicensed content.
- PIPA (Protect IP Act) would block websites located in the United States as well.
The Obama administration is putting a stop to these proposals. It wants the Internet companies and the content companies to get together and come up with more functional and less destructive solutions. (Source: SOPA/PIPA debate on DeviantArt)
Watch video below:
So what does this all mean? Well, as my friend Jocelyn so eloquently put in in her journal on DeviantArt:
Free speech: Gone.
Free information: Gone.
Youtube: doomed
Photobucket: doomed
Wikipedia: Doomed
Deviantart: in serious jeopardy
Facebook: restricted
twitter: restricted
Fanfiction: ILLEGAL
Fanart: ILLEGAL
Okay, anyone who knows me well knows that I am an avid fan fiction writer. My story, Mirror, Mirror (which can be found on this site) is a prime example of one of my fan fictions. If a law like this passes, I will be forced to take down Mirror, Mirror as well as the rest of my fan fiction on other sites because it would be illegal for me to post them, although I am making absolutely no money off it whatsoever and the purpose of writing it is to help me become a better writer. I have artist friends who enjoy making art of their favorite characters and putting them up on the web for people to see. This is called fan art, but a bill like this would make it illegal.
In other words, piracy is good for some things, such as not infringing on the First Amendment! Help me keep the internet open and sign Google’s petition to stop these bills from passing. The link is provided below, and it is absolutely safe. Google also provides options to post in Facebook, Twitter, and Google +. Be sure you do that, too, and end the madness.
End Piracy, Not Liberty Petition