Online censorship in the offing

It may sound scary but it is true. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is being legislated in the USA, which is all set to set a precedent for Internet censorship

Frequent online users must have seen an advertisement in which an appeal has been made to oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). The bill is called the Protect IP Act in the US senate. SOPA is a new bill proposed in the USA. If passed, it will allow the US government to block Americans from visiting websites that infringe the law.

Websites will be blocked if any infringing material, links or user-posted content is found. It means these sites will be liable for their content and even for user-posted content over which they have little control. The links and posts shared on social networking sites and micro-blogging websites like Facebook and Twitter will be monitored and if found to infring the law then the links can be deleted. The US government states that the bill has been designed to block ‘rogue’ websites.

Many companies including Google, Twitter, Facebook and Mozilla are up in arms against any such bill that is against innovation. They are of the view that if the USA implements this bill then IT will set a precedent for Internet controlling laws around the globe which means censorship could become a new standard after the USA sets the ball rolling.

IT companies have made an appeal to the public through an ad which says, “Our basic Internet freedoms are on the chopping block—it’s time to tell your congress person that American censorship isn’t ok.” USA will be the fourth country to use a DNA-based website blocking system after China, Syria and Iran.

It is a million-dollar question whether we need these harsh Internet laws? The answers of many would be ‘no’. All the opponents of the bill have their own reasons to oppose. Users are opposing the bill because it will not allow them to publish or share material which they do not own or have copyright rights. None of us would be able to download movies, e-books or songs using Torrent.

There are many creative persons who cannot afford setting up their own companies to showcase their creative ideas. They will be discouraged to put up ventures even in the virtual world where one needs relatively lower investment to set up a production firm and easily communicate with the world. People will not take the initiate fearing heavy penalties, as proposed in the bill.

Public petitions against the bill are circulating online, requesting President Obama to veto the legislation, named as the ‘E-Parasite Act’ by its opponents.