SOPA and PIPA

Last Wednesday, a number of popular websites, including Reddit, Wikipedia, and Google, either "blacked out" their content or otherwise tried to raise awareness of two sister bills going through the senate and the house, SOPA ("Stop Online Piracy Act") and PIPA ("Protect IP Act"). Members of congress on both sides of the aisle attempted to force them through despite pleas from numerous Internet companies. These bills are not progressive in the slightest; rather, they evince the ossification of the film and music industries and could pave the way for Internet censorship a la China and Iran.

If passed, SOPA would allow the government to punish companies that "facilitate" posting copyrighted material, a stipulation that has the potential to tear down social networking sites such as Facebook and search engines such as Google. If Google or a member of Facebook were to link to copyrighted content, the hosting website itself would be considered liable and the government, as well as the owners of the copyrighted content, could order the websites to remove such links or shut down the websites entirely. These stipulations have the potential to make America even less hospitable to businesses in our fastest-growing sector.

Of course, an eroding bottom line is the only thing that the MPAA and several record label companies see. However, the true cause of their diminishing profits is not piracy; rather, viewing and downloading content on the internet has become so convenient and user-friendly that consumers now shun movie theaters in favor of home theaters, and record stores in favor of iTunes and Beatport. True, online piracy is a problem, but there exist innovative solutions that would not limit free speech.

For example, the pornography industry has adopted a very successful business model in response to the level of piracy of Internet porn. Most pornographic websites now offer either low-resolution or limited samplings of their offerings, and give viewers the opportunity to subscribe for premium content. Because subscribing from home is far more convenient and requires far less subterfuge than buying a pornographic video or magazine from a store, these companies can now reach larger audiences and as a result their profit margins have grown.

Music services such as Spotify have adopted similar models. Spotify offers a free service that allows consumers to listen to whichever songs that they want, which the company subsidizes through commercials. However, for a small monthly fee, a consumer can bypass the commercials, listen to higher quality music, and sync music to his iPod.

Instead of investing its time and money to adapt to a new entertainment milieu, the MPAA has decided to buy members of congress and to destroy an industry capable of growing America out of its current recession. My advice to readers is this: don't let your guard down. Call your state representatives. Even though SOPA and PIPA were shelved after the Internet protests, the ideas behind them remain intact. The newly revealed  "Protect Children from Online Pornographers Act," which aims to track the names and identities of Internet users, is a twisted example of how our representatives will stop at nothing to stifle free speech and to protect their political contributors. In 1984, O'Brien claims that, "Nothing holds [The Brotherhood] together except an idea which is indestructible." Ironically, today it appears that the goal of Internet censorship is the only "idea" on which all of our representatives can agree.  

Mike Romano ‘12 is a Chemistry major from Fairfield, CT.  Contact him at miromano@davidson.edu