Today, Congress holds hearings on the first American Internet censorship system that could very well change how we all use the internet. The New York Times recently did an article today of what the Protect IP Act would do:
The bills would empower the attorney general to create a blacklist of sites to be blocked by Internet service providers, search engines, payment providers and advertising networks, all without a court hearing or a trial. The House version goes further, allowing private companies to sue service providers for even briefly and unknowingly hosting content that infringes on copyright a sharp change from current law, which protects the service providers from civil liability if they remove the problematic content immediately upon notification
If the bills pass, and they very well may, sites like Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, forums such as Dimensions, and may other sites will be blocked for US users. Please, I urge all members of Dims, US resident or not, to take the time and go to the following link to express that this is a country based upon freedom of speech, no matter the medium.
http://americancensorship.org/
The bills would empower the attorney general to create a blacklist of sites to be blocked by Internet service providers, search engines, payment providers and advertising networks, all without a court hearing or a trial. The House version goes further, allowing private companies to sue service providers for even briefly and unknowingly hosting content that infringes on copyright a sharp change from current law, which protects the service providers from civil liability if they remove the problematic content immediately upon notification
If the bills pass, and they very well may, sites like Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, forums such as Dimensions, and may other sites will be blocked for US users. Please, I urge all members of Dims, US resident or not, to take the time and go to the following link to express that this is a country based upon freedom of speech, no matter the medium.
http://americancensorship.org/
