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Why You Need To Say NOPA to SOPA.

jenw-1984There’s a beautiful neighborhood in San Francisco called NOPA, North of the Pan Handle.  It’s filled with busy, creative, and the “go everywhere everyone else doesn’t” kind of mentality.  There are fundraisers at hair salons because, what better than to donate to a great cause that makes you happy too.  It’s filled with people who ride bikes en-masse to protest carbon emissions and it’s fun to roam the art galleries.  The reason I think of it now is not because of the Sunday brunch at http://nopasf.com/ (it’s fantastic though if you’re ever in town).   More because of what it represents and we are on the verge of losing if we don’t act– as American citizens and AV professionals.

NOPA is packed with up and coming professionals, i.e. they are not big corporations and don’t have a lot of money to spend on promoting themselves. They tape posters to bus stops and use social media a LOT to advertise their products, restaurants, and events. The place simply buzzes.  SOPA–on the other hand–is yet another federal government bill looking to stop the spread of movie piracy on the Internet– at our expense.  Bill H.R. 3261, Stop Online Piracy Act to be exact.  Is anyone else REALLY getting the feeling our government works for Hollywood?   The Analog Sunset will seem like a day at the beach if Congress passes SOPA and its sister billPIPA (S.968, Protect IP Act).

Note:  Tuesday, January 24, 2012 Congress returns from their winter recess and it’s anticipated these bills will be up for vote.

The principles behind the bills are reasonable; shut down foreign-based websites and companies profiting from the sale of copyright infringed material.  Who doesn’t support the proper parties creating content owning and reaping the rewards of their work? Sadly, these two bills not only don’t address this real issue, but take the rest of us down too– who aren’t in the black market of selling “My Cousin Vinny”.

These bills are unprecedented in the authority they would give our government to shut down ANY business or service that is reported for possibly participating in copyright infringement.  AND, it doesn’t have to follow that “little” constitutional right we all have called due process to make this happen.  These two bills basically give the government the right to flip the switch on your “innocent until proven guilty” to your “guilty and you have to prove you’re innocent”.   You see, in these bills the federal government conveniently gives themselves, i.e. the Justice Department, the right to obtain and serve court orders as it sees fit to cease and desist– your website, your blog, your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube account (you get my point).  And, the Internet giants have to comply or face penalties.  This language is actually in the bills.  And, then YOU have to file an appeal to prove you aren’t trying to break the law.

Oh, a side note. You have entirely 5 days from the time someone leverages a claim against you to file your appeal.  We all know how long it takes trying to find the right person, agency, or department at the DMV to resolve things; how comfortable are you with having 5 days to prove you or your company isn’t participating in illegal foreign business practices. Does anyone even know what’s needed to prove that? I haven’t got a clue.

The 4 basic tenets of these bills are:

  • The US Department of Justice can obtain court orders against any Web site accused of facilitating or enabling copyright infringement.
  • Actions could include barring online advertising networks or payment companies from doing business with the infringed Web site
  • Internet service providers must block access to such sites
  • Unauthorized streaming of copyright content is a felony

This is critical to us as an American citizen, but, also as AV professionals.  More and more companies are embracing electronic newsletters, blogs, and other forms of social media for marketing and advertising.  The problem with this bill is someone can claim your company is using copyrighted material and without notice or an opportunity to contest– your website would be shut down.  Sure, the government says its targeting foreign-based companies, but the bills do NOT exclude US-based companies in any language in the current form.  In fact, it says US-based companies supporting any foreign-based copyright infringement SHALL be disabled.

These bills have created a tech giant battle.  Media groups, the music industry, broadcasters, and Hollywood support passing the bills so they control access to content.  Internet search providers, ISP’s, and social media companies oppose their passage because they serve up content and would have to become the watchdogs for the government or face penalties.  If you don’t think this is big deal, an Android smartphone app, Boycott SOPA, was launched last week that scans products to show the company’s position on SOPA before you buy it.

For a complete list of entities for SOPA, go here: http://is.gd/7xQIA4

For a complete list of entities opposing SOPA, go here: http://is.gd/0gx4rW

This week at CES 2012, CEO Gary Shapiro came out against the bills and brought together a panel of stakeholders to discuss the harm they would cause and the option of an alternate bill introduced in December 2011 that ACTUALLY addresses the issue of movie piracy, OPEN (Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act). Read the article here: http://is.gd/8AzSNC

OPEN addresses the real issue by targeting the profit source of companies pirating movies and puts the enforcement jurisdiction with the US International Trade Commission (ITC).  Where it should be if we’re only looking to shut down foreign website and companies.  Right Congress?

So, I come back to thinking about NOPA and what it would like if this neighborhood represented the Internet and how the SOPA andPIPA bill would be implemented.  I see the salons closed for posting a picture from a magazine of the latest hairstyle without explicit permission, art galleries not taking chances on artists who may put their galleries in the position of having an infringement claim levied against them, and empty streets where people once have the liberty to protest without fear of becoming a convicted felon.

A little 1984, perhaps.  Are you willing to wait to find out? Tell us in the comments!

To take action, you can use any of the resources below! Better yet, use them ALL!

Contact your Senator and House Representative http://is.gd/ISiVw6

For more information about SOPA and ways to act locally, see Stop American Censorship http://americancensorship.org/

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