It was Black Wednesday on the Internet yesterday, as many of the world’s most popular destinations — Wikipedia and Google among them — went dark or blacked out portions of their websites.
The blackouts were a protest of two pieces of legislation being considered in Congress to address online piracy of copyright materials.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the less-burdensome Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) in the Senate aim to stop overseas piracy of intellectual property such as movies and music.
Essentially, they would allow companies and the Justice Department to block foreign websites that “engage in, enable or facilitate” copyright infringement.
Piracy is a serious, and costly, matter. A 2007 report by the Institute for Policy Innovation said the U.S. economy loses $58 billion annually from piracy. Surely that figure has increased in the last five years.
While well-intentioned, portions of both measures have rightfully been criticized for their potential to stifle innovation and limit free speech. Opponents worry that the laws could be turned against smaller companies that lack resources to mount adequate legal defenses or U.S.-based sites that rely on user-generated content. They also point to onerous language that would require Internet providers to redirect traffic and that would prohibit search engines from linking to rogue sites.
Wednesday’s Web protests culminated a successful public relations campaign opposing the bills.
Despite support from a broad coalition of business interests that includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Motion Picture Association of America, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Recording Industry Association of America, among others, political support has eroded quickly.
The White House over the weekend said it would not support any proposal that “reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.”
By Wednesday, more than a dozen lawmakers said they now opposed the measure. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., a co-sponsor of the Senate measure, said that “valid concerns about potential unintended consequences” required a change of course.
We agree.
Moving forward, we hope lawmakers find a path that protects copyrighted material without thwarting innovation or burdening Web operators who have no ill intent.
Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, has a bill that would target the finances of rogue websites — under the idea that without money they cannot thrive. That’s a good start, but we wonder what would stop a rogue operator, once caught, from simply setting up a new online storefront.
The Internet is a lab of innovation and communication that has transformed the world in remarkable ways. As that growth continues, we must protect the creative work that has gotten us this far.
