SOPA/PIPA Blackout: The Numbers and Consequences

In case you live under a rock in Switzerland, then you probably heard about the SOPA blackout on Jan.18. 75,000 websites blacked out their services on that day to protest congress' push to pass SOPA/PIPA, which would allow corporations to file a court order and close and censor websites which violate copyrights. The problem, something as small as a link to a website can be enough to shut down the site. This would essentially give the pandering corporatists the power to control the internet, the last bastion of true freedom. Wikipedia, Google, and numerous other websites all oppose the bill, and acted to defy it; they shut down.

The Numbers:

Wikipedia:

• 162 million viewed SOPA message
• 8 million contacted their congressperson through their portal
• 12k posted to their blog defying SOPA

Google:

• 4.5 million signed Google petition opposed to SOPA
• 350k emails sent to representatives through SOPAStrike.com and other websites

Twitter:

• There were more than 2.4 million tweets on Jan. 18th about SOPA

Whitehouse:

• received 103,785 signed petitions to oppose SOPA so far
• 24 US Senators changed their minds and now oppose the bill
• Several former co-sponsors, including Marco Rubio, now oppose the bill

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57361906-501465/sopa-and-pipa-internet-blackout-aftermath-staggering-numbers/

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The CEO and Chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Chris Dodd lambasted the SOPA blackout. He calls it a publicity stunt and an abuse of power. Before I get into these extraordinary and self-destructive criticisms of the movement, let us take a brief look at Dodd. Dodd is the former CT Senator who served as the Chair of the Senate Banking Committee, a position I am sure you know he served faithfully and for the benefit of the country... haha, no just kidding.

Dodd passed a bill to support sub-prime mortgages after the housing bubble collapse and then it was discovered he got a "special" mortgage deal from Countrywide Financial which he did not disclose. Dodd continuously stated that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were financially strong and were not a problem, and was a supporter of the sub-prime mortgage loaning, all this before their collapse. His biggest financial contributors were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Also when AIG was bailed out by the government, there was a provision of the deal limiting executive bonuses, however Geithner and other contacted Dodd asking him to eliminate that provision, and he did in the 11th hour, so the AIG execs could still get massive bonuses. Dodd is a man who stands by his principles, until you pay him to stand for yours.

So, Dodd, exuding his normal levels of integrity, came out opposing the SOPA blackout, stating "It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on [these sites] for information and use their services, ...It is also an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today." Let me re-write that last part...

"It is an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today."

The corporations and the government view internet companies free use of the internet, free dispersion of information, and free reign to do as they see fit fairly free of regulation and control, not as a right, not as a backbone of capitalist society and of American tenets, but as a "privilege." Not only do they view it as a privilege which they are lucky to have and be able to use, but in using their freedom to oppose what the legislature want and what the media corporations want, it is seen as an "abuse" of that privilege. If SOPA is passed, these corporations and the congress which panders to them, will act under the direction of Dodd in punishing companies for exerting their privilege to use the internet wrongly, they will punish them by censoring them and shutting them down. Goodbye free internet, hello governmental control.

The government can now indefinitely detain American citizens in Guantanamo Bay without a trial or attorney (NDAA). Are we now going to give them the internet. No, no we are not. We are witnessing the end of the United States as the bastion of freedom and opportunity, and the beginning of 1984 and the police state. Let us hope that the amazing grassroots support and push by Wikipedia and others forces politicians to accept the American will. Let us hope this SOPA bill is not passed under the radar like the NDAA (passed right before New Years). Let us hope that Obama does not give us another bullshit statement like "I will not wrongly use this power, do not worry." Let us do more than hope, let us act and speak and petition.


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Update:

On Thursday, Dodd stated the following on Fox News:
"Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake."

This is a good example of open cronyism. Pass a law to benefit my industry or lose campaign money. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours, the American people be damned.