It’s taken me a few solid days of contemplation and identity discovery to finally decide that Geek Badge will join the horde of internet heavyweights and blackout our website on January 18th. The date is unquestionably the single day that could change our entire future as not only journalists and writers, but as gamers and fans of all things the internet has to offer.
According to the Entertainment Consumers Association the SOPA act will result in the following if passed:
- It strips current laws by now making internet companies, which used to be immune, liable for their users’ communications. This means that Facebook, Youtube, WordPress, Google and more are now on the hook for what you post.
- It gives the US Attorney General, with court order, the power to seize websites that possibly infringe or partially infringe copyright. There would be no due process and no chance to defend yourself before the seizure. The mere accusation can get a website taken away.
- It violates Net Neutrality by ordering internet providers, advertising companies and payment systems to block accused websites with technology that just doesn’t exist.
- It threatens users by imposing fines or jail time for posting even derivatives of copywrited work(s). A video of your karaoke, playing the piano, video game speed trial would now all be punishable if a copyright holder decides to enforce it.
However, the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) has publicly supported the SOPA act and in a quote (grabbed from Destructoid) stated:
As an industry of innovators and creators, we understand the importance of both technological innovation and content protection, and do not believe the two are mutually exclusive. Rogue websites – those singularly devoted to profiting from their blatant illegal piracy – restrict demand for legitimate video game products and services, thereby costing jobs. Our industry needs effective remedies to address this specific problem, and we support the House and Senate proposals to achieve this objective. We are mindful of concerns raised about a negative impact on innovation. We look forward to working with the House and Senate, and all interested parties, to find the right balance and define useful remedies to combat willful wrongdoers that do not impede lawful product and business model innovation.
It’s extremely surprising that some groups are so quick to back the legislature without thinking of its lasting effects on their own industries. The ESA houses more than a handful of heavyweight video game and film developers which have all since been told they support SOPA as well, thanks to their relationship with the ESA. Superb.
courtesy of Battlefieldo.com
Since the information about this bill has been made publicly available, several pillars in the expanded internet world have decided to “Blackout” their website for 12 hours on the 18th (during the governments discussion on whether to pass the bill). The parties include Reddit, Destructoid, GoG and possibly even Wikipedia. So, like our higher peers, we will blackout our entire site for 12 hours starting at 8:00 am Eastern Time on January 18th. Epic Games has made it very clear that they do not support SOPA and I hope that even though we stand on a small pile compared to the other activists in this gargantuan issue, our voices and Blackout might be heard by someone.
For some strange reason, if SOPA passes, Geek Badge may vanish from existence so we MUST FIGHT THIS.
Comments
[...] out our previous story for all the information on SOPA and tomorrow’s Blackout. I believe the blackout should still [...]
[...] a story about US President Obama critically slamming and turning down the bill. Following that, Geek Badge joined a slew of sites in blacking out our contents to the world in order to show these idiotic senates [...]
[...] think it’s been made pretty clear the last couple of days how everybody here at Geek Badge feels about SOPA. The very future of the internet, the best and largest bastion of interconnected human [...]
[...] think it’s been made pretty clear the last couple of days how everybody here at Geek Badge feels about SOPA. The very future of the internet, the best and largest bastion of interconnected human [...]