We all saw it this week. Google blacked itself out. Wikipedia blacked itself out. Sites all across the world joined the uproar of disapproval of some new legislation, SOPA and PIPA.
What is SOPA and PIPA? According to Wikipedia (ironic, right?!):
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a U.S. House bill to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods.
The Protect Intellectual Property Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 or PIPA), also known as Senate Bill 968 or S.968, is a proposed law with the stated goal of giving the US government and copyright holders additional tools to curb access to “rogue websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeit goods”, especially those registered outside the U.S.
If you spent any time on Twitter or Facebook this week, you would’ve been hardpressed to find a single supporter of either of these acts. People began blacking out their status updates, signing online petitions, and calling their local Congressmen.
The one thing that a certain musician doesn’t understand is this: Where is the uproar against Internet piracy?
Agree or disagree with SOPA and PIPA (many feel the language is too broad and gives the Government too much room when making decisions based on the legislation), former Guns n’ Roses bassist and current frontman of LOADED, Duff McKagan wrote a compelling article that is worth your time.
”Anti-piracy legislation could be bad for the Internet business. It almost takes my breath away. Internet piracy has claimed half of the recorded music business, and made the prospect of making a living as a musician harder for artists of all rank and file. Why didn’t Google, or Facebook, or Wikipedia ever stand in solidarity with musicians, actors, and writers – most of whom have never known fame and fortune – as their works were stolen with no recourse on their sites?”
