Firms Launch Internet Blackout

Members of the Providence College student body witnessed a historical event on Wednesday, Jan. 18, but may not have realized it. For the first time in history, a protest by the Internet, including major Web sites such as Google, Wikipedia, and many others, has been used to impact public policy decisions. These Web sites, along with several others like Facebook and Twitter, wrote to Congress as early as November in opposition to Internet regulation.

Specifically, this "blackout" of the Internet was in protest of the proposed pieces of legislation SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), originating from the House of Representatives, and PIPA (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act), originating in the Senate. In the age of the Internet, it is no surprise that such a large amount of opposition is coming from these proposed bills, but "the burst of opposition to SOPA and its Senate companion [PIPA] has caught many lawmakers, who thought they were endorsing a fairly non-controversial anti-piracy bill with strong corporate support, off guard," writes The Huffington Post.

Supporters of both SOPA and PIPA have received vicious pushback from the tech industries and average Internet users for fear that both bills intend to censor the Internet, and possibly provide the government with the feared Internet off-switch. Yet supporters of the bills, which include Hollywood movie studios and major record labels along with several major news providers, including FOX News and NBC-Universal, have argued that they have been forced to react to the great deal of misinformation that has spread around the Internet.

"This information does a disservice to consumers, and it is being disseminated by those who profit from working with illegal Web sites that steal and sell America's intellectual property," reported Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) to CNN.

Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Congressman Smith has been forced to explain legislation to an audience of Internet users who fiercely guard it from any prospect of potential censorship.

"Hyperbole has been rampant in the debate about SOPA. However, the bill in no way censors the Internet. It only targets activity that is already illegal, and only targets foreign Web sites that are dedicated to illegal or infringing activity. In fact, it is similar to laws that already govern Web sites based in the U.S," he reported to CNN.

"The Stop Online Piracy Act works by cutting off the money to foreign illegal sites and making it harder for online criminals to market and distribute illegal products to U.S. consumers. The bill includes provisions that ‘follow the money' to cut off the main sources of revenue to these sites, and also protects consumers from being directed to foreign illegal Web sites by search engines. And it provides innovators with a way to bring claims against foreign illegal sites that steal and sell their technology, inventions, and products," he continued.

Still, opponents are not convinced. "The proposed legislation has startled tech experts and free speech advocates, who warn that the anti-piracy tactics envisioned by the bill would bring about widespread censorship of legitimate content and hamper cyber security measures," writes The Huffington Post.

"The solutions are draconian. There's a bill that would require [Internet service providers] to remove URLs from the Web, which is also known as censorship last time I checked," said Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, whose company has shown some of the strongest voice of opposition to SOPA and PIPA.

Supporters of the bill, however, note that while Google stands against Internet censorship, the New York Times reported that "Google will pay $500 million to settle federal government charges that it has knowingly shown illegal ads for fraudulent Canadian pharmacies in that United States [according to investigations by the Department of Justice]." So, while opponents argue that the fight is one over freedom of speech and access to information, proponents argue that this legislation is just another way to regulate an unregulated market obviously being taken advantage of by the big tech companies.

In an interesting twist, though, the debate over SOPA and PIPA seem to have invigorated a spirit of participation in the American populace. In the age of social media, the Internet Blackout of 2012 has shown that it is rapidly becoming easier for the average citizen to engage in the daily events and debates in Congress.