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Several high profile websites including Wikipedia, Reddit and Cheezburger, are taking part in a 24 hour shut-down protest against new US laws relating to piracy.
The House of Representatives’ Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and the Senate’s Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa) are designed to block access to sites containing unauthorised copyright material.
If English language users log onto to the Wikipedia website they are shown this message:
“Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge
For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia.”
The new laws would mean the justice department and content owners could seek injunctions which would order search engines to block results associated with piracy.
Some see those opposing this law as pro-piracy, however the concern is that user generated content website, which have become very popular in the last 5 or 6 years, would have to become heavily policed. This could impact on investment in start-ups channelling user generated content space and drive away users.
Ultimately, the law will mean a reduced freedom to express and share information with the world which is how the internet thrives. However, there needs to be a dynamic solution which tackles the issue of large piracy organisations without penalising those who merely wish to share content.
BCNS is a leading computer services company, providing IT support and solutions to clients in the public, private and educational sector through the U.K. and in Ireland.
