SOPA cyber-piracy bill would create 'federal big brother' to govern the internet, fearful experts warn

• 80 of internet's creators write open letter to Congress
• Stop Online Piracy Act is currently being considered
• Fears over authorities gaining too much online control

By Mark Duell   via dailymail.co.uk


Planned legislation to attack internet piracy will give the government too much power to close websites, a group of internet founders have warned.
A collective of more than 80 of the internet’s creators have claimed a new bill could damage America’s credibility and create ‘fear and uncertainty’.
The founders of Google, Twitter, Yahoo! and other major websites have also slammed the Stop Online Piracy Act being considered in Congress.

Worried: Vint Cerf, one of the 'fathers of the internet', is in a group who have claimed the bill could damage U.S. credibility and create 'fear and uncertainty'

‘If enacted, either of these bills will create an environment of tremendous fear and uncertainty for technological innovation,’ the group warned.
‘(They will) seriously harm the credibility of the United States in its role as a steward of key Internet infrastructure,’ they said in a letter, reported AFP.

 

The inventors, engineers and developers are worried about the bill in the House of Representatives - and a Senate version called the Protect IP Act.
Their major concern is that U.S. authorities could soon be able to close ‘an incredible range of useful, law-abiding sites’ with the bills.

Downloads: The group's major concern is that U.S. authorities could soon be able to close 'an incredible range of useful, law-abiding sites' with the bills

‘Both bills will risk fragmenting the internet's global domain name system and have other capricious technical consequences,’ the group said.

'If enacted, either of these bills will create an environment of tremendous fear and uncertainty for technological innovation'

Stop Online Piracy Act group

Vint Cerf, one of the ‘fathers of the internet’, is one of those who signed the open letter to Congress in an attempt to stop the bill happening.
The group is worried that the extra censorship being considered could put the U.S. on a par with notorious online policing in China and Iran.
But the laws have been backed by the music and film industries, manufacturing groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, reported AFP.

Unhappy: Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt, pictured, has called the bill 'draconian' and policy counsel Katherine Oyama has also criticised it

Google has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the anti-piracy legislation and has urged lawmakers to think again.

THE BASIC FOR & AGAINST

FOR

• Film and music industries want more protection on copyright
• Copyright holders find their products ending up on foreign websites
• Government wants more protection from cyber-attacks

AGAINST

• Promotes censorship in line with China or Iran policing
• Anyone with axe to grind could cause trouble, Google says
• Experts say it will create ‘fear and uncertainty’ in industry

It wants politicians to instead work on legislation that cuts off revenue to rogue sites via the courts and avoids any 'collateral damage'.
Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt has called the bill 'draconian' and the company's policy counsel Katherine Oyama has also criticised it in public.
The company, in solidarity with tech giants Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, eBay and others, has run full-page advertisements in major newspapers.
It also banded with AOL, eBay, Facebook, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo! and Zynga to file a formal complaint in a letter to key lawmakers.
Other critics, including website Reddit, launched an effort to combat the proposal by placing 'Stop censorship' titles over their own logos.

TOO MUCH CONTROL? THE BACKGROUND BEHIND SOPA

The Stop Online Piracy Act has pit internet giants, consumer groups and freedom of speech advocates against film studios and record labels.
The House bill would allow a private party to go straight to a website's advertising and payment providers and request they sever ties.
'Anyone with an axe to grind could send a notice without first involving law enforcement (or) judicial process,' Google's Katherine Oyama fumed.
But advocates of the legislation say current law leaves few options for copyright holders whose products end up on foreign websites.
The U.S. Justice Department could also request court orders to compel  search engines and other sites to block domain names or search results.

 

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