Kassandra Aguilera Research Paper English 11 Wilson Period 6 4/3/12 Internet Censorship

Government officials believe the best way to rid the internet of rouge websites is to pass a Internet Blacklist Bill. Government believes that this should no longer go on, that no user of the internet should be able to illegally download substances off of the web. Also, taking down websites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. because of its copyrighted content. I believe this shouldn't happen because a wide range of people will be affected by this and because mostly everything on the internet now-a-days has copyrighted material, and many users have in doubt downloaded things illegally, whether it be software, or just music, therefore many users will be affected and many websites will be censored.

About 2,000,000 people use the internet everyday, and many use it for multiple purposes, some for business, or just personal use; now if someone or something were to take away this great advancement in technology would create tremendous problems.

Many bills have been on the verge to passing in Congress; some more commonly known bills could be SOPA and PIPA. These two bills have bounced back from previous years, but with a greater impact, they practically give the government access to some websites which may or may not contain pirated and or infringed content. Stated in the article Will SOPA and PIPA bills break the internet? with these bills being passed, it will, in a way, stop the flow of creativity; mostly every idea is linked with the other, causing a greater exposure to websites. Certain websites claimed to be 100% affected by the bills would be foreign sites, resulting in banishment form the US internet. "Bottom line: This legislation would chill the free flow of expression of ideas on the Internet simply because it creates greater liability and exposure for websites and others," Fernando Pinguelo, McLaughlin & Marcus, writes in an e-mail interview. "While average users may not initially feel the pain, they certainly will in the long run as information exchange reduces due to the threat of exposure to lawsuits and related concerns." Also stated Under the now besieged PIPA and SOPA bills, search engines would have had to disable links to foreign sites infringing on US intellectual property law; advertising services would be chopped, and so would provisions that cut off payment processing. Thus, meaning that foreign sites will be removed from the internet in the US. SOPA and PIPA bills have shown their strength and have also concerned many citizens of the US, most-

ly because one of the most important things will have been greatly affected and possibly censored most terribly. The these people will be affected because of the actions they have done on the internet, most important above all, is illegal downloads.

Many internet users, and almost every as well, have downloaded something illegally off of the internet. Now, these people have something to worry about if these bills come to pass. According to Wyden Blocking Controversial Internet Bill, Under SOPA, those who own copyrighted content would be able to take action against the websites which distribute their things without permission and would also be able to enable them intermediaries that do business with that site. Also referring to the article, it is said that, these bills will also take many every day things form peoples everyday lives, it effects the fast growing economy, which is of course the internet. Most importantly, these bills have been getting so much attention that they are so controversial that it has generated alarm from both sides of the political spectrum. The Stop Online Piracy Act, as the House version is known, would enable owners of copyrighted content and the Justice Department to take action against "rogue" websites in other countries that facilitate the unauthorized distribution of material, especially movies and music, produced in the United States. It would do so by enabling them to pressure "intermediaries" -- service

providers, search engines, advertising providers and payment services -- that do business with those sites. "Bills like PIPA and SOPA will do lasting damage to one of the fastest growing -- and job creating -- sectors of our economy, the Internet," he said in a statement. "The at-all-costs approach that these bills take to protecting intellectual property sacrifices cyber security while restricting free speech and innovation. We can find targeted, rational protections against online privacy if we work at it; but PIPA and SOPA, as written, are not the answer." Because that the bills have said to take action if owners of websites own copyrighted content, it effects the economy with everything around it. Now; these bills could also have a good effect to them, with the growing amount of people downloading illegal content onto their computers, brings them higher at risk of being punished by government. And so with these bills being considered, people should now think twice before downloading and maybe the rate of downloads will lower in percentage. Other than that, some people have also taken action, they have gone in between the lines with coming out and saying that the bills have violated the First Amendment.

Other than the PIPA and SOPA Bills, theres a bigger and more dangerous one, called the COICA. The COICA is another bill on the verge to passing, it would not only affect innovation and progress, but itll also remove the constitution from our right of

freedom of speech. According to the article, Could congress shut down youtube with internet-blacklist bill? even President Obama had said that he supports the idea of a free and open internet. But whats so interesting about this is that the Congress was still able to consider to pass these bills even though they go against all of the things that Obama had said himself, going against the ideas of free and open internet. Many have said that COICA sends a wrong message to the generation of young Americans. That because so, the US government would dangerously go against the support for freedom of expression. The new COICA bill would take censorship to a new level in the United States. Under this bill, non-infringing material would be removed as well. Though the bill is directed at pirating and file-sharing websites, there are countless other websites that could potentially be indicted if a court decides that enough people use them for copyright infringement. President Obama claimed in an address to the United Nations in September that the United States would continue to support a free and open Internet and condemned current Internet restriction laws in other countries. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski also issued a statement following Mr. Obamas speech in which he claimed, It is essential that we preserve the open Internet and stand firmly behind the right of all people to connect with one another and to exchange ideas freely. Basically meaning that no matter what tactics that would be

made, the COICA bill will have permanent damage. Even SOPA, to this day, still is in effect, the all known website Media Fire, has basically been blocked out, or what people would like to say, Its been Sopad. So all links leading to the website, now lead people to a picture of the Sopa document, explaining why its been blocked.

In conclusion, because government officials want to get rid of further wrong-doings on the internet, they want to pass three different bills that world censor the internet. Censoring the internet would be wrong in so many ways because of the wide variety of industrial and social groups that would be affected by this. And because many of us would have to endure living in a world without free internet until the bills are stopped. Which is why many people still research these bills to find more ways of going around the laws and going more steps further ahead.

Bibliography
Barton, Paul C. "Wyden Blocking Controversial Internet Bill." Gannett News Service. 01 Dec 2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 08 Feb 2012. Clayton, Mark. "Would SOPA and PIPA Bills 'Break Internet?' Anti-Piracy Measure..." Christian Science Monitor. 18 Jan 2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 02 Feb 2012. Geist, Michael. "Why My Website Went Dark." Toronto Star. 19 Jan 2012: A.23. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 08 Feb 2012. Tomaine, Gina. "Could Congress Shut Down YouTube with Internet-Blacklist Bill?." Christian Science Monitor. 06 Jan 2010: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 08 Feb 2012.