Hey Trebuchet readers. This is really important. You know this internet that you all love. Well a lot of it is memetic and based on pop culture.
SOPA and PIPA will curtail the satire, the references and perhaps even the people are able to ‘assemble’ online.
There are arguments for and against SOPA.
Yes it might well get rid of every trace of Rick Astley from the internet but at what cost.
So even if you’re against piracy and we all are (there are better models of free distribution and market sampling) we don’t think that this is the best way of going about getting creators (not media conglomerates who exploit at either end of the supply chain) a fair deal.
Read more.
(and we beg you to stop making jokes about ‘dropping SOPA’ and saying ‘PIPA please’ like you’re from the ghetto)
Treb Hed.
—–info from avaaz—-
Today could be the day we save the free Internet. We’ve flipped the White House and Congress is on the back foot.Now Wikipedia’s blackout has pushed the US web censorship bills to the top of the news. Today we’ve reached the tipping point. Let’s bury the bill for good.
Today could be the day we save the free Internet.
The US Congress was poised to pass a law allowing officials to censor access to any website around the world. But after we delivered our 1.25 million strong petition to the White House, it came out against the bill and with public pressure at a boiling point even some bill backers are switching sides. Now, the Wikipedia – led blackout protest has rocketed the public campaign to the top of the news.
We are turning the tide. But the dark forces of censorship are trying to revive the bill right now. Let’s bury it for good today.Click to sign this emergency petition to save the Internet now and if you’ve signed already, to email, call, Facebook, and tweet Congressional and corporate targets. Then send this to everyone:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_action_center_b/?vl
The bill would make the US one of the worst Internet censors in the world — joining the ranks of countries like China and Iran. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) would allow the US government to block any of us from accessing sites like YouTube, Google, or Facebook.
We got the White House to switch sides and now our global campaign and the growing public pressure is forcing Congress to abandon the bill. Last weekend, Senator Cardin, who cosponsored the legislation, announced he will vote against it! Then six prominent Republicans penned a letter requesting that the bill be shelved. Now the lower house vote is reportedly on ice.
Just days ago we were told it was impossible to stop the corporate censorship cabal, but now this is at a tipping point and amazingly we could win! Let’s stop US censorship today. Sign this emergency petition to save the internet now and forward it to everyone:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_action_center_b/?vl
This US legislation could infringe on all of our freedoms. But if we win, we will show that when people unite with one voice from all over the world we can stop the abuse of power anywhere. We have brought this bill back from the brink. Now, if we amplify our voices today, we can put an end to the most powerful Internet censorship threat that the world has ever seen.
With hope,
Dalia, Ian, Alice, Ricken, Diego, David, and the Avaaz Team
Sources:
White House statement:
https://secure.avaaz.org/whitehouse_internet_statement
Wikipedia joins web blackout in SOPA protest (BBC):
http://www.avaaz.org/bbc_sopa_wikipedia
Everything you need to know about Congress’s online piracy bills in one post (Washington Post):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/everything-you-need-to-know-about-congresss-online-piracy-bills-in-one-post/2011/12/16/gIQAz4ggyO_blog.html
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. – Aristotle
