Is censoring the internet a step too far?

Written by: Michael McElwain '12

            Of the many bills introduced by the United States’ legislation, many are passed by legislators or simply turned down, very rarely will they nationwide publicity. H.R. 3261, most commonly referred to as SOPA, is perhaps the most controversial bill that has appeared during our lifetime, resulting in mass protest and disapproval.

            SOPA is an acronym, standing for “Stop Online Piracy Act,” a bill introduced by Texas republican representative, Lamar Smith. Although the bill was first introduced on October 26, 2011 in the House of Representatives, major publicity and controversy did not begin until later 2012 when citizens became more aware of the bill in question.

            Vint Cerf, known for being one of the “founding fathers” of the Internet, was among the first individuals whom openly opposed SOPA. Cerf expressed his feelings in an open letter to Congress, where he stated, “If the US begins to use its central position in the network for censorship that advances its political and economic agenda, the consequences will be far-reaching and destructive.”

            After reading Cerf’s critique of SOPA, internet security experts, such as Dan Kaminsky, Steve Crocker, and Paul Vixie issued awareness on the serious and long-term effects that SOPA (and PIPA – Protect IP Act) would have on the country’s economy, as well as raising fear of more drastic changes, such as the bill’s effect on citizens’ freedom of speech and online privacy.

            Continuing with the domino effect, several human rights organizations sent an open letter to congress, opposing SOPA and brought up the group’s concern on the toll that such a bill would take on civil and human rights. As well, professors of law, entrepreneurs, and several leading venture capitalists voiced their opinions, saying that SOPA would create “serious constitutional, constitutional, innovation, and foreign policy concerns,” and ultimately hurt the country’s economical growth.

Mozilla, an organization focused on bettering the web by distributing a free, open web experience, was one of the first technology companies to oppose the bill and devote their time to make more internet users aware of the bill’s dangers and its effects on how we use the internet.

Mozilla, in major association with Google and Wikipedia, organized a “black out” censorship day to inform fellow American’s about the bill’s negative impact on the U.S. economy, as well as individual privacy and rights of citizens using the Internet. Along with Mozilla, Google, and Wikipedia, it was reported that January 18, 2012 an estimated 7,000 websites contributed to the nationwide service blackout.

The organization of multiple Internet companies working together for a censorship awareness day was a success – Google alone estimated that it had collected signatures from over 7 million citizens. There was also a rally held at the White House. An estimated 113,000 people showed up at the White House to oppose SOPA, upon which president Obama issued a statement saying “the White House opposes any bill that would make it easier for government to censor the Web or make the Internet less secure.”

            SOPA would ultimately lead to censorship of the web and would invade on the rights and freedoms of citizens. SOPA reminds each U.S. citizen how lucky they are to have the freedom of speech and that it should not be taken away anytime soon.