What Would Have Happened to Blogging, Web Marketing, and Creativity if SOPA Had Passed?
Not too long ago, blogs, websites, and social media platforms were all atwitter over the Stop Online Privacy Act that was supposed to be voted on by Congress in late January. The bill would have broadened the reach of national law enforcement to fight against online piracy. While some of us might agree with a need to end the spreading of pirated material, the piece of legislation was incredibly controversial. Many believed that SOPA would have stifled creativity and resulted in online censorship, so web users breathe a sigh of relief that it was pulled before it could appear before Congress. The passing of SOPA would have caused problems for everyone from bloggers and Facebook users to an online marketing firm trying to use effective web marketing strategies for business.
So what would have happened if SOPA had passed? Before the bill was scheduled to appear before Congress, there was an unparalleled online protest where blog, personal websites, and major websites such as Wikipedia, went dark. The idea was to stress how important freedom of speech is and how many people rely on it every day. According to protestors, fundamental liberties could have been trampled on through enforcement of SOPA. But would we all have been living under an Orwellian dystopia a la the novel 1984?
Certainly, the passing of SOPA would have led to a squelching of creativity. From the independent blogger to the online marketing firm, any person attempting to introduce a bit of innovation to their creative process would have suffered. Admittedly, the distribution of pirated materials does need monitoring, many viewed the measures that the proposed legislation would have taken as extreme.
Others argue that some of the response taken by protestors was extreme. In response to SOPA, related legislation, and the shutting down of major file sharing site, MegaUpload, a “hacktivist” group operating under the alias “Anonymous” launched large scale DoS attacks on websites associated with SOPA. If SOPA had gotten the chance to appear before Congress and had passed, would it have achieved its intended end? Or would there have just been an uprising of high tech Robin Hoods, launching attacks and protests against major corporations involved with ending piracy?
Without a doubt, there’s a fine line between ending online piracy and infringing upon peoples rights through censorship. Fortunately for those in the business of web marketing, blogging, and anyone using the Internet as a form of expression, SOPA was pulled before it could appear before Congress. But the fight of Internet users to defend their fundamental liberties isn’t over. New legislation will surely be consistently drawn up in an attempt to stop piracy and ultimately ruffle the feathers of creative souls. Unless an amicable agreement can be reached, it seems that conservation of creativity and the desire of law enforcement to end piracy will be at odds.
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