SOPA - Stop Online Piracy Act

Until a couple of days ago I had never heard of SOPA.  Now that I have, I thought it worth mentioning.  You might be up to speed on SOPA but if you're like me, and are just finding out about it, watching the three videos linked to below will definitely launch you into the subject.

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From Wikipedia: The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as H.R.3261, is a bill that was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, by Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) and a bipartisan group of 12 initial co-sponsors. The bill expands the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods.  Now before the House Judiciary Committee, it builds on the similar PRO-IP Act of 2008 and the corresponding Senate bill, the Protect IP Act.

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SOPA doesn't sound like a bad thing does it?  Indeed, it looks like a good thing. Online theivery of intellectual property needs to be stopped. But...there's always more to the story.

Could be that there is more to this SOPA than one might see if only looking at its surface.  In fact, the SOPA bill, if passed, just might influence who controls the Internet.  Watch this 14+ minute video and see what you think.  Then, if you want to know more, watch the other two videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIuYgIvKsc&feature=player_embedded#!

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Video: SOPA, Piracy, Censorship and the End of the Internet?  Stephen Kinsella on Freedomain Radio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfCLugMzZW8  (35:55)

From video description:  Stephen Kinsella, an American intellectual property lawyer and libertarian legal theorist, discusses the First Amendment violations of the Stop Internet Piracy Act.

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Video: Wikipedia Leaves GoDaddy Over Stop Online Piracy Act

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TbjSswtuNA  (3:45)

From video description: Wikipedia no longer wants to be hosted by GoDaddy.com because the domain registrar has showed support for the Stop Online Piracy Act which Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales opposes. Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss on The Young Turks.