Protect the Internet – Stop SOPA

I want to take a second today to say how thankful I am to live in a country with free speech. As citizens of this nation, we should do whatever we can to protect this cherished right. Please take the time to learn about SOPA today and how its passing could greatly challenge our rights to free, uncensored speech. And put some of the sites we’ve come to love and depend on in danger.

The Wall Street Journal has provided a pretty clear Q&A describing SOPA and PIPA and the concerns surrounding both bills. Here’s what they have to say about the bills’ impact on free speech:

Q: How does this harm free speech? A Wikipedia official said the legislation could allow for “censorship without due process.”

A: Opponents of the legislation worry that the language in the House bill is so broad that it would allow content owners to target U.S. websites that aren’t knowingly hosting pirated content. This has been a particular concern of bill opponents Facebook, Wikipedia and Twitter, all of which have sites that depend heavily on content uploaded by users.

In an extreme case, opponents say, media companies could get a court order blocking payments to an innocent site, with the effect of shutting it down and stripping it of its rights to free speech.

Also, they say the legislation would encourage authoritarian countries that have already been trying to block content on the Internet they don’t like.

If this concerns you, please take a moment (it honestly takes less than 30 seconds) to sign Google’s petition.