Even though the death of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) yesterday were highly lauded, the attempts to control the Internet are far from over. The Internet went dark in protest this past Wednesday, sites like Wikipedia and Reddit joined others in showing their refusal to accept laws that would shut down sites for the most minor copyright infractions while attempting to combat movie and music downloading. But even if it seems like a win for the moment, the storm is coming.
Despite the fact that Megaupload.com and Megavideo.com were shut down through existing laws, which to some may show that the legislation currently in place is strong enough to suit the needs of those who feel their intellectual property is at risk, lawmakers are still hard at work to find new ways to sneak through strict Internet regulations.
Two new laws, just as potentially damaging - if not more so - are being introduced now in the United States which could have a profound impact of the Internet if passed: the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and the Protect Children from Online Pornographers Act (don't think this one has an acronym yet so let's just call it the "won't somebody PLEASE think of the children!!" Act).
At the heart of both contains laws that would basically kill any notion of online privacy as both would require close surveillance and even records of your online travels. And while the first one has become somewhat old news as it is basically a reintroduced version of the recently shelved proposals, it's the second one that could finally break through and place heavy regulations upon the world wide web that many lawmakers have been waiting for.
The first bill is in place to ensure that copyright infringements cease to a halt so in that way it is very much like SOPA and PIPA. There is a excellent video describing the proposal posted on YouTube here but the general idea is that if you post content that is not yours you may face legal reprocussions. Without rehashing too much of the details you already know it is troubling that someone who posts a video of being at a party online, without permission to be playing the music that is on in the background, they could be brought before the courts.
Ridiculous you say? Show some reason, they won't take it that far? My high school always played popular music over the PA system while students rushed off to their first classes in the morning. After I had graduated and left a parent of one of the students, who worked in the music industry, heard about this and informed my high school they didn't have permission to play any of those songs and would be sued if they continued. The music before classes became public domain songs - it was either that or crappy high school bands willing to send in their music. Needless to say, it went the public domain route.
Some industries have really dragged their feet, proven unwilling to accept change. The entertainment industry has helped put through laws that charged if not jailed people for downloading files. Although the emergence of the Internet has brought about drastic societal changes on par with those ushered in by the Industrial Revolution it seems that in some boardrooms the now antiquated business models still remain in tact and the word. Many just want to get back to those good ol' times any way they can.
So that explains that one - but, but what about the children you ask? Why is that one more dangerous? Quite simply the Pornographer's Act is much more difficult to refute for the simple reason that no right-minded and balanced person would ever support Child Pornography. The Act contains the same limitations of online rights, with strict surveillance of one's internet activities - but it also includes storing personal information and records of one's Internet activity for 18 months at a time. There's a good article on this in The Atlantic, you can find it here.
The online world is one of the last bastions of freedom. It was the wild west for a while, laws have recently been introduced but it still has some room for personal freedom. More laws will be introduced with time, it's inevitable, however the laws should be organic not forced. Yes child pornography is atrocious, but so is keeping one's personal information as well as a year and a half of their Internet activity just in case they need to be brought before court. There has to be some rational progression here - like The Oatmeal explained in their highly entertaining and easy to understand take on SOPA, these laws being proposed are like dealing with an escaped lion from a zoo by taking a flame thrower to a bunch of kittens.
There has to be a point where cooler heads prevail and everyone realizes the world has simply changed. The Conservative government here in Canada recently lifted a ban that said people or publications that tweeted election poll results in Halifax after the polls closed, but before the polls closed in Vancouver four hours later, could find themselves in trouble. The law about broadcasting voters information before polls closed was made in the 1930's and it made sense then, but with the emergence of social media it simply didn't fit anymore. The government will either find another way, or live with the cards they have now been dealt.
I think a memo on this ruling needs to be sent south of the border because, like it or not, if the U.S. makes any sweeping decisions on the Internet the whole world is going to feel the consequences. And right now, there's some rather encompassing decisions being proposed before Congress.
