User:Fengerem

SOPA

SOPA otherwise known as Stop Online Privacy Act was a bill introduced by U.S. Representative Lamar Smith of Texas. The bill would have given law enforcement more power when it came to copyright infringement and pirated content. The problem that the content owners are facing is that there are sites where you can illegally download their work, which means they lose money and ownership. However, these sites cannot easily be shut down because the physical servers are located in other countries where there are not laws against piracy. What SOPA would have done is require that those sites not show up in searches on sites like Google. Further, it would also not allow payment through eBay and PayPal services. While people agree that something should be done about the issue they felt that the way this bill went about it would have devastating consequences. Companies such as Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Google and Yahoo were all key players who were against the bill. SOPA would have meant that the Internet would be censored and people would no longer be able to freely upload, post, tweet, blog etc. This would mean that these companies would have to self-police and delete any post or related means of communication if it in any way violated copyrights. This would be very expensive and would require companies to spend much time and resources policing their site. It would also be next to impossible for small Internet start-ups to be able to censor their sites. Thanks in large part to the huge out cry against the bill it did not pass.

PIPA

PIPA, which stands for Protect IP Act was another bill that planned on taking on Internet piracy and copyright violations. While it is very similar to SOPA it was not as broad as SOPA was. However, it still would have had terrible repercussions that would affect the millions of people in the United States who use the Internet it have also been very costly financially. Mostly what these bills were trying to combat was the piracy that took place outside of the country but was used by people with in the United States’ boundary. These bills were pitting the entertainment industry and the technology industry against each other in the name of protecting content. For Hollywood they make their money off creating new shows, movies, plays etc. and selling them. Piracy takes money from them that they would usually be making from sales. The technology industry has made their living on the free flow of ideas and sharing ideas and improving them to make a better final product. As a result, these two are on opposite ends of the spectrum. PIPA would require that domain name servers take steps to prevent people from accessing sites that contain copyright material. So sites like Google would not be able to have links to sites that had pirated content.

Anonymous

Anonymous is a group of hacktivists or people who are hacking for a purpose. They started in 2003 on a site called 4chan. The members of the group are known as Anons and when in public wear Guy Fawkes masks. Originally many people would get together and “hack” for a common goal and it was done for fun as a prank. Then in 2008 they targeted the Church of Scientology followed by Westboro Baptist Church, PayPal, Sony and others. People all across the world have been arrested in relation to the anonymous attacks. However, supporters of the group see them as a heroes rather than cyber terrorist. While the group doesn’t have any leadership they do have a few rules such as not talking about the group, reveling your identity or attacking the media. The group strives for Internet freedom and believes they are doing the world a service by hacking these sites.

Movements to Protect Online Privacy

These groups have shown that there is much more of an issue on the Internet than copyright violation and censorship. They have also shown that they do not plan to take things lying down. Moreover, they’ve shown that major companies are vulnerable to cyber attacks and that more needs to be done to protect privacy online. While the Internet is a great way for ideas to flow freely there are also great problems associated with that. As a result, companies need to work hard to protect users’ rights and privacy. There is also the problem of who is in charge of the Internet? Is it hackers who can threaten to shut down whole sites if they don’t like what they are doing, the government, or users? Many issues plague the Internet and its free flow of information and content. Until these issues are solved groups like anonymous will continue to be.

Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden is a name that has been talked about frequently in recent times. He has been called a whistle blower for telling the world about what the U.S. Government is up to. While some have called him a hero others are calling him a traitor. He had access to classified documents and was able to obtain them from the NSA and then hand them over to journalists. Contained in those documents was the information that the U.S. was using data mining software to gather information from its citizens. He does not believe that he has harmed the United States because there is no one individual that they can point to and say that they have been harmed. Further he believes that he was helping U.S. citizens by showing that the government was infringing upon their rights. However, others are saying that he gave the U.S.’s enemies our playbook. He is currently in Russia and many people are calling for him to come back to the United States and face justice as he is currently facing espionage charges.

Sources

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Hundt, Reed. "Saving Privacy." Home. N.p., 19 May 2014. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://www.bostonreview.net/forum/reed-hundt-saving-privacy?utm_content=buffer36c18&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer>.

Magid, Larry. "What Are SOPA and PIPA And Why All The Fuss?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 18 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrymagid/2012/01/18/what-are-sopa-and-pipa-and-why-all-the-fuss/>.

McCullagh, Declan. "How SOPA Would Affect You." CNET. N.p., 18 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www.cnet.com/news/how-sopa-would-affect-you-faq/>.

Newman, Jared. "SOPA and PIPA: Just the Facts." PCWorld. N.p., 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://www.pcworld.com/article/248298/sopa_and_pipa_just_the_facts.html>.

Norton, Quinn. "2011: The Year Anonymous Took On Cops, Dictators and Existential Dread | Threat Level | WIRED." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 09 Jan. 0012. Web. 24 June 2014. <http://www.wired.com/2012/01/anonymous-dicators-existential-dread/all/1>.

Olson, Parmy. "Anonymous Strikes Back." Saloncom RSS. N.p., 3 June 2012. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://www.salon.com/2012/06/03/anonymous_strikes_back/>.

Pepitone, Julianne. "SOPA Explained: What It Is and Why It Matters."CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/17/technology/sopa_explained/>.

"PROTECT IP Act." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 June 2014. Web. 23 June 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PROTECT_IP_Act>.

"Watch Primetime Special: Inside the Mind of Edward Snowden - NBC News." NBC News. N.p., 28 May 2014. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/edward-snowden-interview/watch-primetime-special-inside-mind-edward-snowden-n117126>.