by Erik Kain on January 25, 2012
SOPA, PIPA, ACTA – the four-letter acronyms of the various laws and trade agreements aimed at cracking down on internet piracy have been swirling about the internet lately. More often than not these regulations have been crafted behind closed doors, leading to discussions about each that are too murky and confusing by half. Hyperbole abounds, often magnifying [...]
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Julian Sanchez has an excellent piece in Ars Technica which takes a look at the claim that content creators are being discouraged from creative pursuits due to online piracy – a claim that has fueled the recently stalled anti-piracy legislation in congress. Whether SOPA and PIPA would have actually worked is an open question, but [...]
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This is via ProPublica, and it’s a wonder to behold: It’s not a done deal yet, of course, but opponents of SOPA and PIPA at least have the momentum at this point. This may be the first time we’ve seen the power of online grassroots activism combined with beneficent tech corporations but it won’t be [...]
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by Erik Kain on January 20, 2012
An internet blackout and protests online and in person helped grind anti-piracy legislation to a halt in congress. But the fight isn’t over yet. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) called off a vote on the controversial Protect IP Act (PIPA) after Wednesday’s internet blackout and statements from the president indicating that more discussion was [...]
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by Erik Kain on January 19, 2012
During its blackout Wednesday Wikipedia asked users to imagine a world without free knowledge and then call their representatives in congress. Millions of Americans took that to heart. Along with the 4.5 million people who signed the anti-censorship petition, millions more looked up information about their congressional representatives. No wonder politicians are starting to feel [...]
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by Erik Kain on January 18, 2012
The internet is a strange and mysterious place today. I keep forgetting Wikipedia is down and going over there to look up this or that subject. Then I’m reminded that no, Wikipedia and Reddit and Craigslist and many other sites have gone black to protest the anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA. Over at Wired David [...]
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by Erik Kain on January 18, 2012
All across the internet today, websites have gone dark to protest two bills in congress that aim at cracking down on online piracy. However, these bills – SOPA in the House and PIPA in the Senate – are widely believed to go too far, netting many law-abiding citizens and websites in their attempt to quash [...]
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by Erik Kain on January 17, 2012
Wikipedia, one of the most highly trafficked websites in the world, along with the popular, highly trafficked community Reddit will both go dark Wednesday, January 18th. The sites are blacking out to protest controversial anti-piracy legislation in the House and Senate. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales took to Twitter to talk about the coming blackout. “This [...]
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by Erik Kain on January 15, 2012
Lost in the discussion of internet censorship, anti-piracy measures, and the politics of the internet is a simple question: does piracy actually cause economic harm? Tim O’Reilly read the White House statement on the SOPA / PIPA legislation and came away with mixed feelings. “I found myself profoundly disturbed by something that seems to me [...]
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by Erik Kain on January 14, 2012
Concerns over anti-piracy bills in congress are finally beginning to influence lawmakers. SOPA architect Lamar Smith is, apparently, listening – especially now that the Obama administration is voicing its own concerns over the legislation. In a statement, Smith said he will remove controversial DNS-blocking rules from the bill, though his counterpart in the Senate, Patrick [...]
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E.D. Kain is a blogger and freelance writer. Currently he serves as Editor-in-Chief of The League of Ordinary Gentlemen and writes a policy blog at Forbes. He can be found occasionally composing 140 character cultural analysis on Twitter. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The National Review, The Washington Examiner, and the now-defunct True/Slant.
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