My connections in the technology world are nearly universally opposed to SOPA. They (i.e. we) see it as a threat to the open Internet. Hollywood and the music companies say there is nothing to fear from this legislation. Yet most independent analysts and the organizations that would have to comply with the law say that it creates serious problems.
To protest SOPA, many Internet companies — as you no doubt have seen or heard by now — have blacked out their websites. I’ve seen Internet watchers go back and forth about the usefulness of the current blackout protest. Two tweets stand-in for a whole lot of others:
“Going dark is cute, but, the only way SOPA dies is if the tech industry
starts lobbying just as hard as the entertainment industry,” Gizmodo’s Mat Honan wrote. And Gawker Media’s Joel Johnson tweeted, “Is it possible to appreciate protest blackouts and also think that they’re mostly preaching to the choir?”
Combined, the two tweets suggest support for anti-SOPA ideas, but a fear that the protests are basically useless because the target audience (Congress) won’t be swayed by the blackouts. It’s a sentiment that I’ve seen (re)tweeted in various guises over
Read More from the Article Source: Full Article
