Saw this on Craigslist. I also read that Obama is against SOPA.
Corporations whose lobbyists drafted SOPA and PIPA want the ability to block you from reaching any web site they feel hurts their profits -- without due process, or review in any court -- by hijacking DNS (!) and censoring search results. Hoping you won't notice until it's too late, Congress is preparing to give them that right.
For example, Monster Cable considers craigslist a "rogue site" for takedown under PIPA - they want to prevent YOU from selling YOUR unwanted cables, by removing craigslist from the Internet entirely, so they can increase their sales of new cables! Many other "rights holders" want to be able to do the same. (Boycott anyone? There's an app for that.)
SOPA/PIPA authors and supporters insist they're only fighting "piracy," but Internet Engineers understand that this is an attempt to impose China-style government control over our public Internet. Hmmm, who should we believe?
Let Congress know you OPPOSE H.R. 3261 "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) and S. 968 "Protect IP Act" (PIPA):
Reverse Robocall ALL pro-SOPA MOC + Key Lobbyists (Genius! More info on Ars Technica)
Phone your Member of Congress the old fashioned way (House) (Senate)
Contact Senators who are refusing to meet with constituents about SOPA/PIPA.
EFF Congressional Emailer - Oppose Internet Blacklisting (SOPA & PIPA)
ECA Congressional Emailer - Don't Censor Our Internet!
OpenCongress Congressional Emailer - Oppose SOPA
Generic Congressional Emailer (You'll need your Zip+4)
Outside the US? Sign Petition Opposing US Censorship of Global Sites (EFF)
Supporters of SOPA: RIAA, MPAA, Nike, Pfizer, Walmart, Tiffany, Chanel, Rolex, Sony, Juicy Couture, Ralph Lauren, News Corp, VISA, Mastercard, Comcast, Time Warner, ABC, Dow Chemical, Monster Cable, Teamsters, Rupert Murdoch, Lamar Smith (R-TX), John Conyers (D-MI)
Opponents of SOPA: Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, eBay, AOL, Mozilla, Reddit, Tumblr, Etsy, Zynga, EFF, ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Darrell Issa (R-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Ron Paul (R-TX)
Where does your Member of Congress stand on SOPA? (Project SOPA Opera)
SOPA and PIPA Are Too Dangerous To Revise, They Must Be Killed Entirely
Congress needs to hear from you, or these dangerous bills will pass - they have tremendous lobbying dollars behind them, from corporations experts say are attempting to prop up outdated, anti-consumer business models at the expense of the very fabric of the Internet -- recklessly unleashing a tsunami of take-down notices and litigation, and a Pandora's jar of "chilling effects" and other unintended (or perhaps intended?) consequences.
There is still time to be heard. Congress is starting to backpedal on this job-killing, anti-American nonsense, and the Obama administration has weighed in against these bills as drafted, but SOPA/PIPA cannot be fixed or revised -- they must be killed altogether.
Sen Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep Ron Wyden (D-OR) are championing an alternative to SOPA/PIPA called Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN) that focuses on cutting off payments to foreign sites dedicated to piracy, and refrains from disrupting basic Internet protocols, or threatening mainstream US sites like craigslist.
Tim O'Reilly, a publisher who is himself subject to piracy, asks whether piracy is even a problem, and whether there is even a legitimate need for any of these bills.
Learn more about SOPA, Protect IP (PIPA), and Internet Blacklisting:
Growing Chorus of Opposition to SOPA
Open Letter against SOPA from 83 Prominent Internet Engineers
Why SOPA and Protect IP (PIPA) are Bad, Bad Ideas (Techdirt)
Piracy not a problem, SOPA/PIPA unnecessary (Tim O'Reilly on GigaOM)
SOPA News (Google News)
SOPA Wikipedia entry
SOPA FAQ (CNET)
