If today (January 18, 2012) is "Internet Blackout Day" to protest SOPA/PIPA bills under consideration by the US Congress... then why am I still online? Why are you online, if you're reading this post on the 18th?
Is it because we cannot go a single day or hour or minute without our entertainment and news and communication? Perhaps - but there are still movies and print newspapers and telephone calls that can fill those voids.
More likely, we're online - now and any time - because we must share something. I mean that we are truly driven to share good news, bad news, cute kitten pictures, tidbits of information, and titles of books that someone else will just love; we are humans, and our culture of sharing is part of what makes us human.
To me, giving credit to the originator/creator/performer of a painting, a song, a book, a charming and witty sentence is a moral obligation, according to my upbringing and my education as a librarian. This was much easier when books and paintings were "one-off" and there was only one original with no easy way to copy it. Then along came the printing press, camera, tape recorder, photocopier and so on. Thank goodness for US copyright laws.
Yes, piracy of intellectual property is a real and growing problem. Yes, there do need to be legal ways to stop and punish intentional internet piracy. But I agree with many others that SOPA/PIPA is the wrong way to accomplish this.
This tweet today from Erin Bow (author of Plain Kate, which I recommend) puts it in perspective for me: "I'm an author; I make a living because of copyright, and piracy takes its toll. But SOPA would stop piracy by poisoning the ocean." @ErinBowBooks
Google has started a petition to protest passage of SOPA (the House of Representatives version)/ PIPA (the Senate version); you can sign it here.
The bills are scheduled for Jan. 24th vote, so you have time to read them yourself (PIPA here, SOPA here) and contact your Representative and your Senators to help them understand that censoring the Internet through SOPA/PIPA will not stop piracy of intellectual property online.
If we do not speak out, how can we help our lawmakers decide?
**kmm
Great post! So well said. Have you read the MPAA response, condemning sites for going dark for the day? What weasels!
ReplyDeleteI agree it is a moral obligation to give credit where credit is due! It only takes seconds to credit someone. I'm in a writing program right now and surprisingly, have come across a handful of people who don't think naming a source is important or even necessary. I was shocked as this was coming from writers! I mirror your sentiment by saying, thank goodness for Canadian copyright laws although the laws could be better. So I guess thank goodness for those who are standing up and fighting for writers/artists’, etc. rights.
ReplyDeleteThere is a really interesting book by Clay Skirky called Cognitive Surplus, which is all about how the Internet has helped us share/connect more. I was actually thinking about that book in relation to the Comment Challenge (which is how I found your blog). But it definitely relates to your point about being driven to share.
ReplyDeleteGood Points! I completely agree with your last sentence, there. Thanks for visiting by blog -- and I agree with your comment!
ReplyDeleteYou are right about speaking out and letting our lawmakers hear our voices. They sure did on this one!
ReplyDeleteGlad y'all visited. Exciting that our collective voices caused Congress to stop rushing SOPA/PIPA to voting floor so they could consider more info and alternatives! Still need ways to stop internet piracy, so send those reasoned responses to your Senators and Representative (or Member of Parliament, etc.)
ReplyDeleteGlad you're talking about this - and I like Erin's tweet. And thanks for being part of the 2012 Comment Challenge!
ReplyDeleteNamaste,
Lee
Our government finally heard our voices. Now if they will only listen.
ReplyDelete