Jocelyne LaFortune (The Beacon)
By Jocelyne LaFortune, Staff Commentary
Earlier this month, users of Wikipedia and Reddit got a tiny taste of what life could be like under the Stop Online Privacy Act, which aims to prevent the illegal use of copyrighted material, but has the potential to censor legitimate free speech.
In protest of the pending legislature, the English Wikipedia and Reddit sites, along with thousands of others, blacked out for 24 hours on Jan. 18. Google placed a black bar on its homepage and collected an estimated 7 million signatures in protest of the bill. Following these protests, several senators withdrew support for the bill, causing it to be put on hold on Jan. 20 for further consideration and revision.
This legislation threatens our rights to freedom of speech, and as an avid user of the Internet (and of websites like Wikipedia) I am amazed that more people are not outraged.
Backed by Hollywood bigwigs such as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America, the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) would allow "corporations, organizations, or the government to order an Internet service provider to block an entire website simply due to an allegation that the site posted infringing content," according to a statement released by Wikimedia.
Because the bill would have the power to shut down websites that stream illegally downloaded materials – such as music or movies – it makes sense that the large Hollywood corporations would be in favor. However, the language of the bill is broad, and would allow for the censorship of legitimate websites as well.
The fear of Internet censorship is not unfounded. While it is perhaps not yet an issue here in the U.S., several other governments around the world have used the power to censor the Internet. In China, Facebook is blocked by the government. While there are ways around it, this sort of censorship would surely be met with extreme opposition here in the U.S.
During last spring's violent conflict in Libya, the Libyan dictatorship was able to completely shut down the Internet in order to stifle the spread of information about the rebellion. Similarly – and equally frightening – SOPA would allow the U.S. government to remotely disable any website suspected of copyright infringement.
Does that terrify you? It should.
Granted, as Americans we do not live with a dictatorial government, but the underlying issue is the same: If the government is able to shut off the Internet at will, as citizens we submit ourselves completely to their control.
While our government debates Internet censorship for the benefit of larger Hollywood corporations, the European Union is getting it right. Last Tuesday, the European Commission announced that they are considering legislation that would force Internet companies such as Amazon.com and Facebook to obtain explicit consent from consumers regarding the use of their personal data.
While the European Union's new legislation does not address the issue of freedom of speech or censorship, it is a step in the right direction because it allows consumers to control how their own personal information is used and distributed. Rather than siding with large corporations, the European Union is giving more rights to individuals, and this is precisely the issue at hand here in the U.S.
