The land of the free?
Much to the chagrin of students nationwide, the English Wikipedia blacked out its service on Jan. 18. Accompanied by Reddit, Imgur and an estimated 7,000 smaller websites, this service blackout was in protest of proposed Congress bill Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and its Senate counterpart, the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA).
Cartoon by Abby Gross
For those unfamiliar with the controversial legislation, the respective bills are designed to limit the online piracy that has run rampant for the past decade. While well-intentioned (and backed by the MPAA, the RIAA and others), the proposed legislation has several high-profile internet developers, including Google, voicing strong dissent against it.
Much of the argument against these bills is in the far-reaching creation of powers to block access to websites that infringe upon copyright. One of the provisions of the bill would allow for copyright infringing websites’ Domain Name Services to be blocked. The issue arises, as paraphrased from one of the many open letters to Congress, that this provision has the potential to “break the Internet.”
Far from the technical issues of these bills, however, are the ethical and ideological issues at play. If America really is “the land of the free,” and our politicians actively voice their contempt for oppressive, censoring governments such as China and Iran, then why have our proposed pieces of legislation become heavy-handed as of late? For those who don’t actively follow the news, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was recently signed into law, contains provisions allowing U.S. citizens to be detained indefinitely without trial by their own government.
Furthermore, the potential for active censorship of ideas and opinions by SOPA is not one step back for our country, but more like actively backpedaling over a century of court rulings and advocacy. If America truly is the greatest nation on Earth, it is due to our diversity of cultures and ideas. These bills provide a very slippery slope towards a totalitarian state not unlike that of Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” wherein ideas are actively censored by the government.
These are eye-opening and fear-inducing developments. Our politicians condemn another nation’s practices, but the apparent “benefits” of these policies seem to have enticed some of our “representatives.” The Internet community and thousands of citizens banded together on Jan. 18 to protest SOPA, so much so that support has disappeared and SOPA “died.” However, if anything, this has taught citizens that we must remain vigilant. Now more than ever, specific provisions in bills must be read by the citizenry and, by extension, our Representatives, before signing the legislation.
This lack of trust of citizens on the part of the politicians is not a new development. In the years following the terrible attack of 9/11, civil rights were rolled back in the name of “national security,” the now frequently cited reason for spying upon our own citizens.
Has the paranoia and fear-mongering really advanced to the point that now our very thoughts may be censored by extension of these bills? That is truly the implication of this legislation, no matter how one approaches it. While the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and the copyright laws are important, setting fire to an integral part of modern life and knowledge is far from an ideal solution, in particular for an industry that has spent more than $91 million in lobbying for SOPA in 2011.
It has been too long since the politicians have been reminded that they are elected to act in the citizens’ interest. Those who do not must be voted out of office swiftly and harshly. Recall elections were invented for a reason. So were primaries. The burden of responsibility is on everyone’s shoulders, representative and citizen alike.
