2012-01-18
Today is SOPA Blackout Day!
As I'm sure you already know, today is the day for the mass online protest against the SOPA bill working its way through Congress. This legislation, the creation of the MPAA, would give government and private industry the power to censor, block, or shut down any website suspected of "piracy" or "copyright infringement." Since the internet is based on sharing and connectivity of media, this pretty much makes the World Wide Web itself a suspect.
This is a disastrous piece of legislation, propped up by dinosaur industries and the authoritarian-minded politicians in their pockets. This is a profound threat to our liberties and our way of life. It's very simple. If SOPA passes, sites like The Ghibli Blog can be shut down. Hell, Youtube, Facebook, Reddit and Twitter can be shut down. SOPA could also be used as a tool of political suppression. People who criticize the government, or the ruling political party, could be shut down. Websites that embarrass politicians could be shut down. Do no doubt that these scenarios could happen. Expect it.
Call your members of Congress and demand that they stop this reckless assault on our rights. SOPA does nothing to stop online "piracy," and you know it. It will only be used by the powerful to beat down their rivals and their critics.
Do you see that link at the top that says, "Downloads"? There lies an atomic fuckton of copyrighted material. Am I hosting any of it? No, I'm only providing links to other sites. But those links are sufficient to shut this website down. Hell, every video, photograph and screenshot on this site falls under copyright. If SOPA passes, The Ghibli Blog can be shut down. Period.
Call the Congressional Switchboard now -- (202) 224-3121. Then call again. Keep the pressure up!
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5 comments:
At this point, I seriously doubt SOPA will pass at this point.
Since I'm not a US citzen, I can't really do too much to help, but I did sign an online petition.
Pass or no - does not matter. They took Megaupload down today (the day after the protest) without needing that bill...
I'm just a resident alien but I did send an email to my representative (TX whence the bill comes from, yay).
The hearing's been pushed back to February but it's far from over.
Argh... It looks like Studio Ghibli is going against their fan base as well... I see your YouTube account has been terminated and all of your Ghibli-related uploads blocked. :(
@ghibli: Yeah, I saw that Megaupload got whacked. I'll just repeat what I wrote on my Twitter feed: These guys weren't taken down over "piracy;" they were whacked because the crime boss (the federal gov't) didn't get their cut.
This relates something that I like to call "The Howard Beale Rule." It goes like this: You can do anything and say anything you want, as long as you don't interfere with the money. If you get in the way of the money, you're a dead man.
As for Youtube, it's true that my old account was shut down for hosting too many movie clips. Oops. But never fear! I have a newer account that is very active. I mostly post "needle drop" recordings from my vinyl LPs, but I've also uploaded movie trailers and video games.
I'm planning on changing Ghibli Blog to a new template, and when that happens, I'll make sure there's an icon for my Twitter and Youtube pages. Remember, of course, that I also have a sister weblog, Daniel Thomas Vol 4, where I write about music, video games, and politics. And by "writing about politics," I really mean, "running naked through the streets in search of an angry fix."
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