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<div id="magicdomid2"><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z b">'''A Proposal for Solidarity in Condemnation of Legislation to Destroy the Internet i'''</span><span class="author-a-1z68zz77zbrz67zruz78zz78zz80zz85zz72zaz78zq b">'''n'''</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z b">'''F'''</span><span class="author-a-1z68zz77zbrz67zruz78zz78zz80zz85zz72zaz78zq b">'''avor of'''</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z b">'''Corporate Interests'''</span></div><div id="magicdomid3"><span class="author-a-1z68zz77zbrz67zruz78zz78zz80zz85zz72zaz78zq i">''-B''</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z i">''rought forth by independent members of Occupy Boston and the Occupy Boston IT working group.''</span></div><div id="magicdomid4"><br/></div><div id="magicdomid5"><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">Congress is currently contemplating laws that </span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">will dramatically change the</span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">way the&nbsp;</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">internet</span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">functions.</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">&nbsp; </span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">First introduced in the </span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">United States </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">House </span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">of Representatives on October 26, 2011, </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">t</span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">he </span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)</span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">,also known as H.R. 3261</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">,</span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">and </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">its counterpart, the </span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">Protect IP Act</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">,</span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">also known as Senate Bill S.968</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">,</span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">allegedly combat</span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods.</span></div><div id="magicdomid6"><br/></div><div id="magicdomid7"><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">SOPA/PIPA</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">'s success in Congress</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg"></span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">has been in a large part due to lobbying </span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">by</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">the infamous</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">Motion Picture A</span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">ssociation</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">of America (MPAA) and Recording Industry </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">Association </span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">of America (RIAA).&nbsp; They are opposed by nearly every internet content provider, electronic civil society organization, and the ACLU.&nbsp; The lobbyists are winning: As of last count 81 </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">C</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">ongresspeople are in favor of the Act, and 29 are against</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">(1).</span></div><div id="magicdomid8"><br/></div><div id="magicdomid9"><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">SOPA/PIPA extends current copyright laws, making </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">websites</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">liable</span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs"></span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">when a user links to a page with copyrighted content.&nbsp; Websites such as Google, Youtube, and Reddit </span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">will be forced to proactively review any user generated content</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">;</span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">the cost of this review will prevent the creation of the next Googles, Youtubes, and Reddits.&nbsp;</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z"></span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">Sites </span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">may be perm</span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">an</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">ently taken down </span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">without judicial review </span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">because a user on a site linked to </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">suspected </span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">copyrighted content.&nbsp; Any website which hosts user-generated content is a potential target of these acts</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">.&nbsp; </span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">SOPA also makes content provider</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">s</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">, </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">such as</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">Comcast, AT&T, or Verizon</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">,</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">liable when a user u</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">tilizes</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">their bandwidth to access </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">suspected </span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">copyrighted content.&nbsp;</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z"></span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">In order to protect their corporations, telecom companies and websites will be forced to filter and pre-approve all content.&nbsp; This would effectively transform the internet from a place for sharing and creativity, into a barr</span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">e</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">n co</span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">rporatocrac</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">y.&nbsp; The internet, a crucial tool of contemporary horizontal democracy,&nbsp;</span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">is </span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">vita</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">l</span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">to social movements such as Occupy, the global exchange of ideas, and businesses across the world.&nbsp;</span></div><div id="magicdomid10"><br/></div><div id="magicdomid11"><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">This proposed legislation is troubling to members of the Occupy Boston community, for reasons including, but not limited to, the following:</span></div><div id="magicdomid12"><br/></div><div id="magicdomid13">
A Proposal for Solidarity in Condemnation of Legislation to Destroy the Internet in Favor of Corporate Interests
*<span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">1. Freedom of Speech</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">: The passage of SOPA/PIPA would infringe upon&nbsp; Internet users’&nbsp; fundamental rights to freedom of speech and privacy.&nbsp; All speech would be pre-screened by both telecommunications companies like Cox and AT&T, and websites, like Google, Facebook, and Youtube.&nbsp; Websites which allow the collaborative exchanges of ideas, like Reddit, and message boards would be liable for any individual user's link to copyrighted content.&nbsp; This will fundamentally transform the roiling marketplace of ideas that we </span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">currently </span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">know of as the Internet into a barren corporate landscape resembling the Internet known by web denizens in authoritarian regimes.&nbsp; This type of prior restraint on speech will destroy the internet as we know it and has always been unconstitutional in America.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>
-Brought forth by independent members of Occupy Boston and the Occupy Boston IT working group.
</div><div id="magicdomid14">
 
*<span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">2. Quelling Social Movements: Under SOPA</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">/PIPA </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">internet social networking could be destroyed on a whim.&nbsp; This would profoundly transform the way the internet is used for social movements around the world, harming any popular movement which relies on social networking.&nbsp; This includes the 2009 Iranian protests, the popular revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, </span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">Occupy</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">,</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">and other</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">movements across America.</span>
Congress is currently contemplating laws that will dramatically change the way the  internet functions.  First introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA),also known as H.R. 3261, and its counterpart, the Protect IP Act, also known as Senate Bill S.968, expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to allegedly combat online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods.
</div><div id="magicdomid15">
 
*<span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">3. Jobs: </span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">SOPA</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">/PIPA</span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">is job-killing legislation. Experts and industry professionals agree that if SOPA</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">/PIPA</span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">pass</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">es</span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">thousands of jobs in the tech industry will be d</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">estroyed</span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">or s</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">hipped away from America to more speech friendly nations</span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">.&nbsp;</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg"></span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">If SOPA</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg"></span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">pass</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">es</span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">every small business that uses the internet will be negatively impacted</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">; </span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">many startup</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">s will </span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">have little chance of surviving. Every aspect of internet business will be devastated from online advertising to telecommunications.&nbsp;</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">By crushing the internet, </span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">SOPA</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">/PIPA</span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">crushes the American spirit of innovation which has</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg"></span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">created jobs</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">,</span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">and been a cornerstone of</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg"></span><span class="author-a-mz89zz81zz75ziaz66zsnnz79zfy314">the American economy.</span>
SOPA/PIPA's success in Congress has been in a large part due to lobbying by the infamous Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).  They are opposed by nearly every internet content provider, electronic civil society organization, and the ACLU. The lobbyists are winning: As of last count 81 Congresspeople are in favor of the Act, and 29 are against (1).
</div><div id="magicdomid16">
 
*<span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">4. Corruption</span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">: This bill&nbsp; benefits a small number of Hollwood </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">executives </span><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs">and music industry companies (a $10b industry), and is being pushed by their lobbyists, to the detriment of the $800b technology industry. You are not hearing about it because they control the mainstream media. This is but one example of the control well heeled corporations have over our political process, and our action is necessary to inform people who are being failed by the corporate media.</span>
SOPA/PIPA extends current copyright laws, making websites liable when a user links to a page with copyrighted content.  Websites such as Google, Youtube, and Reddit will be forced to proactively review any user generated content; the cost of this review will prevent the creation of the next Googles, Youtubes, and Reddits. Sites may be permanently taken down without judicial review because a user on a site linked to suspected copyrighted content.  Any website which hosts user-generated content is a potential target of these acts.  SOPA also makes content providers, such as Comcast, AT&T, or Verizon, liable when a user utilizes their bandwidth to access suspected copyrighted content. In order to protect their corporations, telecom companies and websites will be forced to filter and pre-approve all content.  This would effectively transform the internet from a place for sharing and creativity, into a barren corporatocracy. The internet, a crucial tool of contemporary horizontal democracy,  is vital to social movements such as Occupy, the global exchange of ideas, and businesses across the world.
</div><div id="magicdomid17"><br/></div><div id="magicdomid18"><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">Therefore, we, Occupy Boston do resolve the following:</span></div><div id="magicdomid19">
This proposed legislation is troubling to members of the Occupy Boston community, for reasons including, but not limited to, the following:
*<span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">1. To join in solidarity with other internet communities in a 'website blackout', Janurary 18th, where all visitors to occupyboston.org will be directed to a page containing information about </span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">both </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">SOPA</span><span class="author-a-z90z4ml9arz74zouxz90zsoz80zg">and PIPA</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">.&nbsp; Functionality of the website will not be disrupted.</span>
 
</div><div id="magicdomid20">
    1. Freedom of Speech: The passage of SOPA/PIPA would infringe upon  Internet users’  fundamental rights to freedom of speech and privacy. All speech would be pre-screened by both telecommunications companies like Cox and AT&T, and websites, like Google, Facebook, and Youtube. Websites which allow the collaborative exchanges of ideas, like Reddit, and message boards would be liable for any individual user's link to copyrighted content. This will fundamentally transform the roiling marketplace of ideas that we currently know of as the Internet into a barren corporate landscape resembling the Internet known by web denizens in authoritarian regimes.  This type of prior restraint on speech will destroy the internet as we know it and has always been unconstitutional in America. 
*<span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">2. To encourage and implore supporters of Occupy Boston to write to their Senators and Congresspeople concerning the detrimental effects of both SOPA and PIPA.</span>
 
</div><div id="magicdomid21">
    2. Quelling Social Movements: Under SOPA/PIPA internet social networking could be destroyed on a whim.  This would profoundly transform the way the internet is used for social movements around the world, harming any popular movement which relies on social networking.  This includes the 2009 Iranian protests, the popular revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, Occupy, and other movements across America.
*<span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">3. To condemn the p</span><span class="author-a-uz81z0z79zmyz78zz83z3iyuz81zz122zoj">r</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">oposed legislation known as SOPA and PIPA for fundamentally </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z b">'''crippling'''</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">free speech on the internet, </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z b">'''stifling'''</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">social movements and creativity, </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z b">'''recklessly'''</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">destroying jobs and annihilating small businesses, and as an example of the </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z b">'''endemic'''</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">corruption which permeates our legislature in the interest of the 1%.</span>
 
</div><div id="magicdomid22"><br/></div><div id="magicdomid23"><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">--</span></div><div id="magicdomid24"><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">1. </span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z url">[http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/ http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/]</span></div><div id="magicdomid25"><br/></div><div id="magicdomid26"><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z u url">[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/internet-inventors-warn-against-sopa-and-pipa <u>https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/internet-inventors-warn-against-sopa-and-pipa</u>]</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">| 83 of the most important engineers of the internet publicly oppose SOPA and PIPA.</span></div><div id="magicdomid27"><span class="author-a-9b7z80zvswz75zrsz82z1z73zz82zz86zs url">[http://americancensorship.org/infographic.html http://americancensorship.org/infographic.html]</span></div><div id="magicdomid28"><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z url">[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3261 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3261]</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">| Text of SOPA</span></div><div id="magicdomid29"><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z url">[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-968 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-968]</span><span class="author-a-z122zz78zz89zsoz74z0uz86zz89zyz76za8z82zz66z">| Text of PIPA</span></div><div id="magicdomid30"><br/></div><div id="magicdomid31"><br/></div>
    3. Jobs: SOPA/PIPA is job-killing legislation. Experts and industry professionals agree that if SOPA/PIPA passes thousands of jobs in the tech industry will be destroyed or shipped away from America to more speech friendly nations.  If SOPA passes every small business that uses the internet will be negatively impacted; many startups will have little chance of surviving. Every aspect of internet business will be devastated from online advertising to telecommunications.  By crushing the internet, SOPA/PIPA crushes the American spirit of innovation which has created jobs, and been a cornerstone of the American economy.
 
    4. Corruption: This bill  benefits a small number of Hollwood executives and music industry companies (a $10b industry), and is being pushed by their lobbyists, to the detriment of the $800b technology industry. You are not hearing about it because they control the mainstream media. This is but one example of the control well heeled corporations have over our political process, and our action is necessary to inform people who are being failed by the corporate media.
 
Therefore, we, Occupy Boston do resolve the following:
 
    1. To join in solidarity with other internet communities in a 'website blackout', Janurary 18th, where all visitors to occupyboston.org will be directed to a page containing information about both SOPA and PIPA. Functionality of the website will not be disrupted.
 
    2. To encourage and implore supporters of Occupy Boston to write to their Senators and Congresspeople concerning the detrimental effects of both SOPA and PIPA.
 
    3. To condemn the proposed legislation known as SOPA and PIPA for fundamentally crippling free speech on the internet, stifling social movements and creativity, recklessly destroying jobs and annihilating small businesses, and as an example of the endemic corruption which permeates our legislature in the interest of the 1%.
 
--
1. http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/internet-inventors-warn-against-sopa-and-pipa | 83 of the most important engineers of the internet publicly oppose SOPA and PIPA.
http://americancensorship.org/infographic.html
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3261 | Text of SOPA
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-968 | Text of PIPA

Revision as of 01:29, 13 January 2012

A Proposal for Solidarity in Condemnation of Legislation to Destroy the Internet in Favor of Corporate Interests -Brought forth by independent members of Occupy Boston and the Occupy Boston IT working group.

Congress is currently contemplating laws that will dramatically change the way the internet functions. First introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA),also known as H.R. 3261, and its counterpart, the Protect IP Act, also known as Senate Bill S.968, expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to allegedly combat online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods.

SOPA/PIPA's success in Congress has been in a large part due to lobbying by the infamous Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). They are opposed by nearly every internet content provider, electronic civil society organization, and the ACLU. The lobbyists are winning: As of last count 81 Congresspeople are in favor of the Act, and 29 are against (1).

SOPA/PIPA extends current copyright laws, making websites liable when a user links to a page with copyrighted content. Websites such as Google, Youtube, and Reddit will be forced to proactively review any user generated content; the cost of this review will prevent the creation of the next Googles, Youtubes, and Reddits. Sites may be permanently taken down without judicial review because a user on a site linked to suspected copyrighted content. Any website which hosts user-generated content is a potential target of these acts. SOPA also makes content providers, such as Comcast, AT&T, or Verizon, liable when a user utilizes their bandwidth to access suspected copyrighted content. In order to protect their corporations, telecom companies and websites will be forced to filter and pre-approve all content. This would effectively transform the internet from a place for sharing and creativity, into a barren corporatocracy. The internet, a crucial tool of contemporary horizontal democracy, is vital to social movements such as Occupy, the global exchange of ideas, and businesses across the world. This proposed legislation is troubling to members of the Occupy Boston community, for reasons including, but not limited to, the following:

   1. Freedom of Speech: The passage of SOPA/PIPA would infringe upon  Internet users’  fundamental rights to freedom of speech and privacy.  All speech would be pre-screened by both telecommunications companies like Cox and AT&T, and websites, like Google, Facebook, and Youtube.  Websites which allow the collaborative exchanges of ideas, like Reddit, and message boards would be liable for any individual user's link to copyrighted content.  This will fundamentally transform the roiling marketplace of ideas that we currently know of as the Internet into a barren corporate landscape resembling the Internet known by web denizens in authoritarian regimes.  This type of prior restraint on speech will destroy the internet as we know it and has always been unconstitutional in America.  
   2. Quelling Social Movements: Under SOPA/PIPA internet social networking could be destroyed on a whim.  This would profoundly transform the way the internet is used for social movements around the world, harming any popular movement which relies on social networking.  This includes the 2009 Iranian protests, the popular revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, Occupy, and other movements across America.
   3. Jobs: SOPA/PIPA is job-killing legislation. Experts and industry professionals agree that if SOPA/PIPA passes thousands of jobs in the tech industry will be destroyed or shipped away from America to more speech friendly nations.  If SOPA passes every small business that uses the internet will be negatively impacted; many startups will have little chance of surviving. Every aspect of internet business will be devastated from online advertising to telecommunications.  By crushing the internet, SOPA/PIPA crushes the American spirit of innovation which has created jobs, and been a cornerstone of the American economy.
   4. Corruption: This bill  benefits a small number of Hollwood executives and music industry companies (a $10b industry), and is being pushed by their lobbyists, to the detriment of the $800b technology industry. You are not hearing about it because they control the mainstream media. This is but one example of the control well heeled corporations have over our political process, and our action is necessary to inform people who are being failed by the corporate media.

Therefore, we, Occupy Boston do resolve the following:

   1. To join in solidarity with other internet communities in a 'website blackout', Janurary 18th, where all visitors to occupyboston.org will be directed to a page containing information about both SOPA and PIPA.  Functionality of the website will not be disrupted.
   2. To encourage and implore supporters of Occupy Boston to write to their Senators and Congresspeople concerning the detrimental effects of both SOPA and PIPA.
   3. To condemn the proposed legislation known as SOPA and PIPA for fundamentally crippling free speech on the internet, stifling social movements and creativity, recklessly destroying jobs and annihilating small businesses, and as an example of the endemic corruption which permeates our legislature in the interest of the 1%.

-- 1. http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/ https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/internet-inventors-warn-against-sopa-and-pipa | 83 of the most important engineers of the internet publicly oppose SOPA and PIPA. http://americancensorship.org/infographic.html http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3261 | Text of SOPA http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-968 | Text of PIPA