When Will It Stop? Congress Seeking Authority to Become Internet "Thought Police"

This country is in dire straights, and both sides of the aisle in Congress seem hell bent on destroying the very fabric of the Republic by usurping the civil liberties of its citizens. The latest power grab comes in the form of the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA). Writing at theHill.com, Bill Wilson argues that this bill is basically a "kill switch" on First Amendment rights on the internet. This legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, and while it is ostensibly designed to protect intellectual property rights on the internet, in practice it is just another unconstitutional power grab by the Federal Government. The scope of the bill is unprecedented in that it would impose government mandates on internet service providers, which essentially gives the Feds free rein over the web. If SOPA becomes law, the government could shut down a website with the mere accusation that the site displayed copyright-protected content. Furthermore, the Justice Department could bar advertisers and payment providers from doing business with the site and charge them as co-conspirators in the alleged "piracy" of content. Without due process, the government and corporations would be able to shut down portions of the internet that they might find objectionable under the guise of copyright infringement violations. Wilson writes at the Hill, "Under the proposed legislation all that's required for government to shutdown a specific website is the mere accusation that the site unlawfully featured copyrighted content. Such an accusation need not be proven – or even accompanied by probable cause. All that an accuser (or competitor) needs to do in order to obtain injunctive relief is point the finger at a website." Jerry Brito, writing at Time's Techland blog, offers this comparison in evaluating SOPA: "Imagine if the U.K. created a blacklist of American newspapers that its courts found violated celebrities' privacy? Or what if France blocked American sites it believed contained hate speech? We forget, but those countries don't have a First Amendment." Harvard Business Review blogger James Allworth wrote of the bill, "Is this really what we want to do to the internet? Shut it down every time it doesn't fit someone's business model?" He argues that the legislation would "give America its very own version of the Great Firewall of China." Not only is SOPA a threat to the constitution and free speech, but it also would have a devastating effect on the economy. Consulting firm Booz & Company released a study in November which showed that almost all of the 200 venture capitalists and angel investors that they interviewed would stop funding digital media intermediaries if the bill becomes law. Incredibly, more than 80% said that they would rather invest in a risky, weak economy with current laws in place than a strong economy with SOPA in effect. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called the bill "a massive piece of job-killing internet regulation," adding that "this bill cannot be fixed; it must be killed." So, who is supporting this fascist, job killing legislation? Mainly it is old-line, entrenched corporations and organizations whose business models are becoming more and more obsolete in the internet age. This includes the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, Macmillan Publishers and Viacom to name a few. Opponents of SOPA include more open and forward-leaning internet companies such as Google GOOG, Twitter, LinkedIn LNKD, Facebook, and eBay EBAY. Thankfully, opposition to SOPA has been growing and the legislation is scheduled for markup by the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. During this session, SOPA will be open for debate, amendments, and proposed rewrites - and hopefully, for America's sake - totally destroyed.