Tuesday, January 17, 2012

SOPA and PIPA- Corporate Control of the Internet

Ah, the thrill of the threat of corporate control hardly takes a break.  Here we go again, and the internet is the subject.  Take a look at this email from a Democratic party source.  A MoveOn message about voter suppression follows:

Dear ,
Since the dawn of broadcasting, our free speech has been dominated - and largely controlled - by the powerful corporations that control public airwaves and the shows they carry.
Real free speech on the Internet is a profound, existential threat to these media giants and the politicians they own. So they are desperately trying to seize control of the Internet with obscure bills called "SOPA" in the House and "PIPA" in the Senate.
Tell Congress: Stop the Corporate Takeover of the Internet
SOPA and PIPA would wreak havoc on the technical infrastructure of the Internet, and threaten thousands of Internet businesses which are truly creating jobs.
More importantly, these bills would give big corporations and the Attorney General the power to shut down websites large and small that somehow link to copyright violators, whether through their own posts or even visitor comments.
How on earth can a website - ours included - monitor thousands or millions of links that accumulate over the years? And why should a single link be sufficient to shut down a website or force a bankrupting legal battle with a giant corporation?

Bob Fertik, Democrats.com

and a MoveOn campaign issue of Republican voter suppression actions:

Dear MoveOn member,
Imagine Mitt Romney in the White House. Tea party Republicans still in control of Congress. No Obama to veto their worst bills.
The election is months away, but this scenario could definitely happen, and here's a big reason why: voter suppression laws passed by Republicans in battleground states to make it as hard as possible for students, poor people, African-Americans, and Latinos to vote. 
Already, Wisconsin, Florida, and Ohio have passed laws to restrict voter registration drives, end early voting, or require voters to present photo IDs at the polls.1 And now Republicans are scrambling to pass laws in virtually every other key battleground state to make it harder to vote in 2012.
These laws shamelessly target key segments of the Obama coalition from 2008, including first-time voters, poor people, and people of color, and could easily tip a close election to Mitt Romney or whoever the Republican nominee is. We're looking at Florida in 2000 all over again.....
Thanks for all you do.
–Steven, Anna, Adam Q., Stefanie, and the rest of the team

 

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