Skip to main content

Mozilla asks users to join ‘Stop SOPA & PIPA’ campaign

stop-sopa-pipa
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The end of the Internet as we know it may be right around the corner — but not if the Mozilla Foundation has anything to say about it. The maker of Firefox, a non-profit organization, has launched a campaign to help block the passage of both the ‘Stop Online Piracy Act’ (SOPA) and the ‘Protect IP Act’ (PIPA), each of which may soon go up for a vote in Congress. Those who join the campaign are asked to call their senators and representatives and express their ardent opposition to these bills by this Tuesday.

What are SOPA and PIPA, anyway?

Both PIPA and SOPA aim to crack down on websites that illegally distribute copyrighted material, like movies, songs and TV shows, just as the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) tried to accomplish in the past. What makes them particularly controversial is that they also have the ability to establish a precedent of Internet censorship never before seen in the US, by allowing corporations (copyright holders) and the US government to require Internet service providers to block access to domains they feel infringe on intellectual property rights, to block payments (through direct donations or ad sales) made to suspected sites, or to sue sites (like Google, for instance) that they think don’t do enough to block access to copyright-protected content. This chilling factor is especially true for SOPA, which critics say could establish the “Great Firewall of America,” a reference to the strict censorship placed on online activity in China.

Supporters and critics

Because of the great power SOPA and PIPA give to copyright holders, these bill have strong support from the entertainment industry, including the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America, among other major content creators. In the opposite corner are a wide number of technology giants, including Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, AOL, LinkedIn and even Microsoft — a long-time proponent of stricter copyright protections.

Other possible consequences of SOPA and PIPA

In the addition to the risk that an incalculable number of innocent websites could find themselves blocked behind an iron curtain — something that could happen simply because a company like Universal or Sony believes a site may be contributing to copyright infringement — critics argue that SOPA and PIPA would fail to stop online piracy because people could still access infringing site by simply typing in their IP address, rather than the domain name. Cybersecurity experts say these bills, if enacted, threaten the very structure of the Internet because the Domain Name System (DNS), which translates domains like “digitaltrends.com” into their corresponding IP addresses, would be tampered with to such an extent that the entire World Wide Web could face a slew of detrimental security risks.

Conclusion

In short: SOPA and PIPA would likely do little to achieve their explicit goals of curbing online piracy. They would give corporations and the US government broad powers to censor the Internet, while at the same time making the entire Web less secure.

SOPA is likely to go up for a vote in the US House of Representatives soon, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to call PIPA up for a vote as soon as next week.

If you believe these pieces of legislation would be detrimental to the Internet we all know and love, join Mozilla’s campaign to block passage of these bills here.

Watch an in-depth video explanation of PIPA

PROTECT IP Act Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
How to change your language in Google Chrome on desktop
Chrome OS

Google Chrome supports a wide range of languages. While it'll default to English in most cases, there's nothing stopping you from changing its settings and displaying pages in Spanish, French, or dozens of other languages.

Changing your default language in Chrome takes only a few seconds, and the technique used is the same across Windows and Mac. Aside from changing your language, note that Chrome now gives you the option to automatically translate pages written in another language – making it easy to read content from around the globe.

Read more
23 of the best Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks
The Netflix home screen.

Netflix is one of the most popular streaming platforms for all things movies and TV shows. Home to an immense library of titles, the Netflix archive is constantly changing and evolving, and so are the many ways you can use your Netflix account. 

For instance, did you know you can access region-locked Netflix shows and flicks by using a VPN? Or that you can disable that pesky Autoplay feature? There are tons of Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks out there, so we’ve gone ahead and rounded up all of our favorites! 
Expand your streaming with a VPN

Read more
How to make a GIF from a YouTube video
woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Read more