If you haven’t heard about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) so far, most are bound to have noticed Tuesday, January 18, 2012 when they were unable to get to many of their favorite sites from Wikipedia to Reddit to WordPress to Mozilla to Craigslist.
NEW: Where do members of Congress stand on SOPA
MUST WATCH VIDEOS: CBS C/Net Complicit in Piracy
SOPA LOSING SUPPORT VIDEO
Do not fall for the red herring that these bills – both SOPA (in the House) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) (in the Senate) are ONLY about stopping “renegade pirate sites”.
ANY site could be taken down!
SOPA and PIPA are NOT only a threat to big sites.
See this MUST WATCH video:
Look at all the videos that have been removed from YouTube because of copyright violations. That could be YOUR blog or any site you visit!
“This bill is about using the government to shut
down the competition from bloggers, podcasters,
Web TV and other independent content creators.”
~ Rick Calvert, BlogWorld Co-Founder ~
SOPA and PIPA would make it simple for YOUR blog or favorite site to be “reported” and taken down or cut off from PayPal and other payment gateways without proof of wrongdoing or any chance to defend your innocence.
Did you know that it is ILLEGAL to sing Happy Birthday in a restaurant
unless that restaurant pays royalties to the people who wrote that song?
Or that you could be found guilty and sentenced to up to FIVE YEARS
in prison for posting a video on your site or YouTube or anywhere else
online that contains any part of that song?
And some actually believe you should report others and
PAY UP if you unknowingly sang Happy Birthday to anyone!
GOOGLE SOPA BLACKOUT LOGO:
Google is NOT going dark – but they did post a message
“Tell Congress: Please don’t censor the web!”
MEDIA IN DENIAL:
As has been their usual response, major media ignores what they don’t want the public to know about for as long as they can:
“Living in what can only be described as pure denial, the MPAA announced today that the SOPA/PIPA protests “failed to enlist big sites.” Honestly, there’s really not much more to say about that. Google. Wikipedia. Facebook. Amazon. Craigslist. All participating. Let’s just stare in wonder at the MPAA’s hubris and ability to deny reality.” ~ TechDirt ~
HOW TO JOIN SOPA BLACKOUT:
- INSTANT >> Twitter Blackout SOPA Avatars
- WordPress SOPA PIPA Plugins
- How to SOPA Strike
- How To Blackout Your Site (For SOPA/PIPA) Without Hurting SEO
- Participating in the SOPA Black Out? Don’t Forget to SEO
- Stop American Censorship SOPA Strike – site includes huge list of participants in strike, ways to participate, and SOPA infographic with NO OBVIOUS WAY TO SHARE IT so go see their SOPA INFOGRAPHIC at WebProNews!
- Zachary Johnson’s blackout page
- ProtestSOPA.org
- CloudFlare’s Stop Censorship app
- SOPA Strike WordPress Plugin
- Did you make something? Tweet it to #StrikeTools
MORE INSANE LAWS
- SNOPES: Happy Birthday is STILL Protected by Copyright! Sing Happy Birthday and We’ll Sue!
- Techdirt: The Happy Birthday Copyright Saga: Generating Millions On A Copyright That May Not Exist
- Techdirt: Senators Want To Put People In Jail For Embedding YouTube Videos
- Techdirt: New Anti-Streaming Criminal Copyright Bill Could Mean Jail Time For Lip Synchers
WHAT IS SOPA?
- XLNT: The Super PIPA-SOPA Action Info Flowchart Reference Guide
- What All Marketers Need To Know About SOPA – The Stop Online Piracy Act
- The Big List Of SOPA Links
- Factbox: The ‘Stop Online Piracy Act‘ explained
- Kikolani: About SOPA and Today’s Blackout – Infographic, Video, and Call to Action
WHAT IS PIPA?
- TodayIRead: SOPA and PIPA will BREAK the Internet!
- ThatBaldChick’s position on SOPA PIPA Blackout
- AHens’Nest Videos and Details about Protesting Internet Censorship
WHAT IS COPPA?
- Proposed FTC COPPA Changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act includes yet ANOTHER call for a National ID – does NOT protect children but does threaten privacy, free speech and freedom.
EFFECTS of SOPA / PIPA:
- SOPA and PIPA bills could threaten natural health websites with government-ordered shutdown
- ?US Chamber Of Commerce Appears To Argue That SOPA & PIPA Apply To NO Websites At All
- ?If SOPA’s Main Target Is The Pirate Bay, It’s Worth Pointing Out That ThePirateBay.org Is Immune From SOPA
