The Stop online Piracy Act

The Stop Online Piracy Act

Stop Online Piracy Act H.R.3261 is a federal statute proposed to the US Congress by House Judiciary Chairman Representative Lamar Smith (D-TX). The bill is meant to protect copyrighted content by allowing “copyright holders to obtain court orders to disallow other companies from doing business” with sites that host “alleged” infringing content. In 2008, it is estimated that over 40 billion songs were illegally downloaded over the internet, and a significant portion of these hosting sites are profiting off of illegally hosting content. SOPA would allow companies to protect their intellectual property by banning websites from online search results, credit card companies, online advertising, and hosting within the US.

Today, online IP is mostly controlled through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. The act prohibits the intentional “circumvention” of Digital Rights Management tools, and imposes a monetary fine or prison sentence on repeat infringers. However, it does not allow IP owners to physically deny access to a site like the Stop Online Piracy Act.

The major supporters of the Stop Online Piracy Act are the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry of America, and Viacom. All three of these proponents are major content creators. From TV shows to movies to modern music most of it is created within these companies. As content becomes more and more accessible online each of these companies has seen online piracy as an increasing risk. To combat this risk they petitioned the government to give them almost total control of content produced on the internet. Since there is far too much pirated media on the internet to bring every infringing website to court all these companies will need in order to combat piracy is to claim that a site is “allegedly” infringing.

Opponents, who range from Microsoft, Google, and Facebook to Reporters without Borders and the ACLU, have more varied reasons for going against the bill. The technology industry is against the bill for two reasons: first, it forces search engines like Google and Bing to filter content. They feel this step would not only undermine their trust with customers, but also sets a dangerous precedent for future government regulations. Second, the bill forces these companies to preemptively begin blocking infringing content. Reporters without Borders and the ACLU oppose the bill for more humanitarian reasons saying the legislation might “eliminate the ability of new entrants into the IP space”