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Storyline: SOPA Controversy Explained

SOPA and PIPA: Just the Facts
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) have been making headlines, but what are they, exactly? Here are the facts.

The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act are getting more negative attention, as major websites such as Wikipedia plan to protest the bills with blackouts on Wednesday. Even Google will join the action, with a link on its homepage explaining why the company opposes the legislation.

SOPA and PIPA have been shelved but the government’s plan to censor the public is an ongoing threat. Enter the "Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement" aka ACTA, an international trade agreement whose supposed sole purpose is to forge ahead with tackling counterfeited goods and -- suprise, surprise -- copyright infringement.

By invoking the acronym SOPA right at the get-go, I may be daring many of you to check the next column over for something a little less chewy. After all, SOPA, which stands for Stop Online Piracy Act, sounds like a piece of arcane Internet government regulation — legislation that entertainment companies desperately care about and that leaves Web nation and free-speech crusaders frothing at the mouth. The rest of us? What were we talking about again? Stay with me here.

Huffington Post reports a small victory against SOPA (H.R. 3261 “Stop Online Piracy Act”) and it's counterpart in the Senate, PIPA (“Protect IP Act”), claiming that President Obama will not support the current legislation. A statement released on behalf of the Obama Administration states, “... we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.

Just last month millions of Americans rallied to defeat SOPA and PIPA. However, something worse has crept in the back-door and may not be able to be repealed. In October 2011, President Obama signed an international agreement called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement or ACTA.

Lawmakers in New York State are proposing a new legislation that involves the Web, and no, it’s not SOPA-esque or another CISPA-like spy-bill. Politicians in the Empire State want to outlaw anonymous speech on the Internet.

Mass action on January 18, 2012 won a small victory for opponents of the internet censorship bills SOPA and PIPA. Many websites “blacked out” in protest and asked visitors to sign an online petition. Google reports that 4.5 million people added their name to an online petition to Congress to oppose internet censorship. Possibly in response to these actions, Lamar Smith, the main sponsor of SOPA, announced on Friday that he would delay further action on the bill.

MPAA is unhappy with the planned blackout of major sites in protest of SOPA. Wait, isn't that what they are trying to do? So...they are upset because THEY are not doing the blacking out??

How SOPA/PIPA Can Affect You

The United States government has been facing an intense amount of pressure, mostly from the entertainment and computer software publishing companies for years to find some method of stopping the online piracy that is allowing people to own copies of their merchandise for free. This is of course understandable, nobody wants to see something they worked hard on to create something of quality be disrespected by people gaining access to it for free.