If Megaupload Was Taken Down, Then Why the Need for SOPA/PIPA?
Think about this folks…. The government and the lackey politicians have been carrying on that the country needs SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) in order to stop piracy of copyrighted materials. If we are in such dire need of these two acts, then how did the Fed take down Megaupload and duly make arrests?
Because laws against piracy already exist! Like most citizens of the US, it is nearly impossible to keep up with all the laws, therefore it is very easy to assume when we are told by the government that they need these two laws, then no such similar laws exist. Oh, boy… have we ever been lied to.
Then why for the urgent need to pass SOPA/PIPA? Because, according to professional internet developers and legal professionals (who know a lot more than I do), the wording of of these two acts will allow the greedy s.o.b.’s corporation$, via the government, to gain more control over the internet thus allowing a potential unlimited ability to censor.
You should be as hopping mad as I am now.
A writer for Mashable also had an epiphany, as he stated, which gave another angle to the whole premise of SOPA/PIPA. It is not necessarily about the monies lost due to piracy, but the monies lost (more so not gained) due to developing entrepreneurs ability to market their own work without the “middleman.”
… star-making power was rapidly transferring from the hands of a few in Hollywood, the publishing houses of New York City and elsewhere to, well, everyone. YouTube is a perfect example. People create their own movies and music videos and, thanks to YouTube’s network, distribute it to, potentially, millions. They create their own following, even their own revenue stream (thank you, Google AdSense). People can now self-publish books and, sometimes, make oodles of money. Photographers post pictures on Flickr and Google+ and generate thousands of views. They no longer need a magazine or newspaper to reach an audience.
Now, following the shelving of SOPA/PIPA as they currently stand, the Fed’s really did a very stupid move with Megaupload. Hopefully others will catch on to this realization that piracy laws DO exist, and not buy into other excuses we will eventually hear from our government lackeys. I rarely urge my fellow internet peeps to share and pass on my postings or commentary, but in this case I will make an exception. I completely believe this is critical to the existence of the internet as we know it that our public becomes aware that we do already have anti-piracy laws in existence, that we have been lied to, and that we our rights are now being threatened with censorship.
Please share, please re-post, please post yourself… I do not care. Just please pass on the word. The internet as we know it needs everyone to make this connection and become aware. The Great Internet Black Out had a major impact… we have the power to stop the insanity (and so does Anonymous apparently – see video below).
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It was always about the money. The money the monied interests want more of. The money they don’t have enough of. The money they pay off our lawmakers with. They won’t stop. They’ll try again — after we let our guard down (they hope). And, as you say, it’s also about the money the little guy makes on the Internet and can’t afford to lose.
(BTW, love the shit storm pic!)
LOL.. thanks (on the shit storm). I knew it was always about the money, but I suppose it was the realization of just such a bald-faced lie! Not like that’s the first time (i.e. 9/11 – but we won’t go into that one).
Excellent post. We’ve said ever since the Napster mess that it’s not about the filesharing, it’s about the ability to eliminate the middle man, the publisher, the music label. It’s like buying veggies from the farmer’s market where you can get it right from the grower rather than through multiple layers of buyers/sellers who each take their cut. I realize we can’t all be in Production, but it seems that our system is so out of control that we put more value on the middle, the buyers and sellers rather than the producer/artist and the consumer. As a consumer I want my money to go to the artist/grower, not all those suits in between.
I know. I’m in the midst of doing all my own creations and building sites to display for sale – and contract for freelance. I most certainly do not need a middleman to do this. I am perfectly capable of marketing my own work, and no SOPA/PIPA or version thereof better not get in my way.
BTW, love the shit storm a brewin. Yes, we’ve been lied to.
LOL.. thanks. I actually found that after I published the post, then thought it was a perfect fit.
Megaupload…
Is dead.
It’s gone.
Forever.
As of Feb. 7, 2012.
RIP
😦
Seriously? I thought it went back up?