by Limor Schafman
Fraud v. Freedom - this is the context of the protest black out day you may have noticed taking place across United States based websites. Visit Google's search browser with its black swath across its name and you will have a good visual of their sentiments.
The issues presented by the legislation under dispute need to be addressed - fraud, security, copyright infringement. But is legislation the proper way? And should the legislation be so broad? Should the Internet be subject to censorship? Should we have our freedom of expression curtailed and subject to a central authority of review and power? The furor around SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act)/PIPA (Protect IP Act) is largely around the over-reaching implications of the proposed bills.
The Washington Post has put together some explanations of the two bills and the surrounding controversey, which are worth looking at.
For the actual text on the bills so you can form your own conclusions, see:
I welcome your thoughts and comments - should Congress get involved in Internet oversight? Why? Why not? And if so, to what objective, extent and best way to implement.
Limor
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