Apparently, the Congress is set to vote on H.R.3261, otherwise known as the SOPA. Wikipedia gives a pretty good overview of the proposed law, which would allow the government to force search engines like Google, payment services like PayPal, and social network services like Facebook to stop linking to certain websites. And if nobody can link to a website, that in effect makes the website disappear, like the communist Chinese Internet Firewall does. Is government Internet censorship really what we want in this country?
Corporations supporting the law imply that it is necessary to stop Internet piracy. What I'm always struck by is that these companies, which claim that they won't be able to make movies or music anymore unless we censor the Internet, are still going strong and able to afford expensive lobbyists to control Congress even though Internet piracy has been going on for over a decade!!
Obviously, the vote on this law is taking place now because everyone is focused on the Christmas rush. Please don't let Christmas be the reason that we lose more freedoms in the United States. Don't make Santa put censorship in your stocking. Instead, take a few moments out of your busy pre-Christmas schedule to remember our nation and our history of liberty. Contact your Congressional Representative today.
