The Keyboard is Mightier than the Bill

By Luci Farrell

Hello Dear Bloggers,
As you know I usually sit staring at my ceiling trying to figure out another fun topic to talk to you about. Last week’s was a bit more somber than usual so I wanted to cheer everyone up. Well, in recent events I have realized I want to educate you on something that may shock you. Wikipedia and several other websites will be staging a 24 hour blackout on Wednesday, January 18th.

Why are these websites going in a blackout? There are two bills currently sitting before Congress known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate, and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House. Now these titles may make many people think ‘Oh, this is a good thing,’ but as a blogger I urge you to read up on these bills.

The passing of this bill could mean that your favorite websites could be blocked without any notice. Think of being locked out from your favorite blogs, comics, or forums. These sites could be blocked indefinably without any kind of notice or trial. Methods similar to those being currently used in China would block sites from users and force search engines to delete entire websites from their search results, including foreign sites. These bills also state that internet companies would need to monitor everything users link or upload or face lawsuits. Every link? Every photo? Well, Twitter and Facebook would be in trouble. Imagine someone being forced to scan through that 400 photo album of Jane’s new puppy or every one of Joe’s tweets that link YouTube videos of trust falls. AOL, EBay, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo, and Zynga (yes, the Words With Friends, Hanging with Friends, and Farmville Zynga) joined together to write a letter staging their concerns about the harm that could cause their companies and the economic growth of thousands of others.

Best of all, look closer into the bills. Many in the online community are pointing out that SOPA and PIPA would not even work out the way they want to. Those censorship regulations they outline would not actually shut down pirate sites.

Now. How does this impact you? Oh, silly reader. There is ALWAYS an impact on you. Ever covered a song and uploaded it to YouTube? Congratulations, that could earn you a criminal record. Those awesome blogs (both clean and NSFW) you love? They could be blocked as I mentioned before. This bill will restrict online free speech. I cannot even imagine what this could mean for poor little fanfiction writers. Oh. Wait. This author could face a few convictions thinking about this now…Well, I expect you to send me letters.

Another important thing for you to do is to check out those who are against the bills. Help support them! Google has a nice bit of information as well as links to show those who are protesting this bill, check it out here: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/community/
I think Google stated it best:
“Fighting online piracy is important. The most effective way to shut down pirate websites is through targeted legislation that cuts off their funding. There’s no need to make American social networks, blogs and search engines censor the Internet or undermine the existing laws that have enabled the Web to thrive, creating millions of U.S. jobs.”

I think I will cut this blog a little short as I know I can ramble on a bit. I do urge you to educate yourself about this situation. Do not just take my word for it. This blog is on the internet along with millions of others who are just trying to have a voice. We could be censored and our voices lost. Educate yourself on this matter and everything you can. Never let an opportunity pass you by because you never know what you face to lose. Help yourself and fight for your rights to have a voice. Be part of the revolution.

Keep Calm and Boycott On

Luci Farrell is a senior from New Haven, CT. She is an Organizational Communication major with a minor in Anthropology. Luci is a Resident Peer Minister on campus and chair of the Honors Program Advisory Council at Saint Xavier University.