7 January 26, 2012
| OPINION
Battle over online piracy is far from over
By CoraALLEN News Editor
The recent shutdown of megaupload.com, a file-sharing site based out of New Zealand, and the charge of its kiwi operators with piracy is a foreshadowing of what is to come in the looming battle over international copyright laws. Congress fired the first bullet with its Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and the Senate’s Protect International Property Act (PIPA.) The two bills which are aimed at putting a stop to the sharing of illegal music, movies,
and software sharing have received large amounts of very public criticism since they were announced. Despite the shelving of SOPA, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s decision to delay the PIPA vote temporarily, this conflict is far from being over. The long journey through unchartered law making waters begins. The bills, although well intentioned, are very deeply flawed. The idea to make it harder for foreign sites to steal digital media or sell counterfeit goods is something that not many people would have a problem with; however, giving the Justice Department power to demand that search engines remove links to offending websites is a problem. Fear mongering headlines aside, it is easy to see why people are shouting about their first amendment rights of free speech. Clauses in the bills could potentially give the U.S. Attorney General unprecedented powers of censorship that could derail entire services or domains like eBay or Craigslist. The bills could also set
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precedent for more bills of this kind to be introduced. The arrival of new technology, especially when it involves mass communication, almost always brings new legislature. I am really a little surprised by how long it took for something like this to be introduced, especially with the power and wealth and influence of the film industry, but it has finally come. Now it is time to see our legislature in action. Something like this is exactly what I need to re-enforce my confidence in our government. That doesn’t mean that I agree with the bill, or that I think that Congress knows what it is doing; it simply means that I think the process created for making laws works. Let me explain. The moment these bills were introduced there was a public outcry, everyone from IT nerds, to huge tech firms like Google and Wikipedia, to celebrities like John Stewart were shouting about the first Amendment, urging citizens to take action. Congress was listening. Political support for both
measures has dwindled in recent weeks, culminating in the likely death of both bills. One time advocates have pulled their endorsements, it would be political suicide to back the bills at this point. To me, this is a positive thing. Even though it is most likely for self-serving reasons, Senators and Representatives took public opinion into account and basically killed the bill before it could go anywhere. If you’re like the big bosses at Hollywood studios and in the record industry you might be thinking that something still needs to be done to prohibit the flow of online piracy and counterfeit wares. Well don’t worry, this effort certainly isn’t over. Another wonderful thing about the lawmaking process, Congress will keep trying and trying until they come up with something acceptable. Attempt number two has already been introduced into the House and it is called the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN.) Contrasting with SOPA
and PIPA, OPEN would give authority to the International Trade Commission rather than the Justice Department. It would also focus on foreign based websites and include an appeals process. This is unlike SOPA which would allow the Justice Department to impose sanctions, including removing entire websites, after only accusations. OPEN has received support from technology giants such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter, but doesn’t go far enough to appease the Motion Picture Association which claims that it goes too easy on online piracy. So the debate between Silicone Valley and Hollywood will continue, as will the lawmaking process. What will emerge will likely be molded from the impending clashes between the behemoths of American Industry. It will be a long drawn out highly publicized battle, but the bill that will emerge is likely to have a very small effect, if any, on our ability to legally, or otherwise, download songs and albums.