It'sGreg

magnifying the problem

Digital piracy and copyright infringement are legitimate problems—nobody would deny that. But poorly-crafted solutions to very real problems only cause more problems.

At present the U.S. Congress is debating two bills that purport to address issues of digital piracy and copyright infringement: SOPA—the “Stop Online Piracy Act” and PIPA—the “Protect Intellectual Property Act”. While we at Utata.org support the concept behind the proposed laws, we believe the legislation as drafted has sweeping potential to limit free expression and open access to the Internet.

Even though this is U.S. legislation, it could have broad international implications. It would, in effect, make every website legally responsible for any link to another site that might link to a site that has copyright infringements.

Many major websites have gone temporarily dark today in protest of the proposed legislation. We at Utata.org want to add our small voice to the greater protest. Every voice matters.

You can learn more about SOPA and PIPA at netcoalition.com.

January 18, 2012 -- greg fallis

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