Government tries to take control of the Internet

January 20, 2012 • Paloma Roman, Staff Writer  
Filed under News

A blackout has been spotted on the internet. Some web sites have been part of the boycott to impose the bills called Stop Online Piracy Act(SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act(PIPA). One of the sites who showed itself was Wikipedia. The page that searches in several different languages is now taken out by a large shadowy W followed by the quote, “Imagine a world without free knowledge.” Wikipedia is one of the many web sites helping contribute against these bills. Many companies are unsure of what these bills would do to their businesses with the government having full control of the web page. If a web site seems accused of being copy righted the bills would be shut down the site even if it was later found to be innocent of all the charges. Another web site standing up against the acts is Google. Visiting the Google homepage has changed from the colorful letters to a dark strip covering the name. The company believes too much is at stake so they have created a petition urging congress to vote no to SOPA and PIPA. Facebook has contributed as well sharing the petition “End Piracy, Not Liberty” page throughout Wednesday. Other major web sites include Yahoo!, Amazon.com, and eBay.

What the bills will do is basically turn the internet service providers into monitors. Many are afraid that the consequences might even have an effect on economic growth. It would also eventually kill the social media. Piracy online does cost companies billions of dollars every year, it is understandable but limiting the access a person has to their internet is against their liberty to view or share what they like. The government would have the right to sue a child singing a song without having authorization from the song write or record label. It would effect the social networks and these days social networks are some of the main streams of the internet. The government is still yet to make a decision.

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