Let me say right off the bat, that personally I’m very much against the idea of SOPA due to how easily the system could be abused and the degree to which innovation would be stiffed all in the name of "stopping piracy." Fortunately, I’m not the only one against the Stopping Online Piracy Act, and many of the opponents include Internet giants Google, Facebook, Ebay, and Twitter.
While money being paid to congressmen may speak louder than a few tech enthusiasts writing to voice their opposition, when no one is able to perform Google searches, update their Twitter, or check their Facebook you can bet that the thousands of Americans are going to go nuts and is surely to get the attention of the everyday-person. And when those same sites show their users who to blame, people are going to react. (Seriously, have you been around someone when their internet has gone out for a day and they haven’t been able to get on Facebook!?). According to CNET, various top Internet sites have an ace up their sleeve and are prepared to blackout their sites such that visitors will be greeted with censorship logos naming SOPA and the government for the lack of user content and users’ social networking fix.
"When the home pages of Google.com, Amazon.com, Facebook.com, and their Internet allies simultaneously turn black with anti-censorship warnings that ask users to contact politicians about a vote in the U.S. Congress the next day on SOPA, you’ll know they’re finally serious" says Declan McCullagh.
If SOPA passes, there will effectively be no internet, so maybe it is time to institute some MAD (mutually assured destruction) by encouraging sites to go with, as Mr. McCullagh puts it, their nuclear option and motivate people to let Congress know just how bad of an idea SOPA is. After all, if SOPA passes how would you get your YouTube laughs, or even more importantly your PCPer fix!? Have you called your Congressmen yet (nudge, nudge)?
I hope that SOPA passes and
I hope that SOPA passes and we have a ‘never do that again’ scenario. Like a WWII on the inernet… of sorts.