Many of you have probably noticed that a number of sites around the interwebs are going black today. Small sites that many people have never heard of like Google and Wikipedia are leading the charge against SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). SB Nation also opposes SOPA. I'm not required to say anything, but I thought this was worth linking and bringing up as it may end up affecting all of us.
Vox Media -- the parent company of SB Nation -- is officially opposed to SOPA. The bill as drafted is overly broad, vaguely worded, and gives rise to a number of significant concerns:
- Decreased effectiveness and questionable availability of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) safe harbor for sites that host user-contributed content;
- Higher compliance costs for all sites that host user-contributed content;
- Potentially overzealous compliance efforts by search engines and payment providers in their attempts to maintain the immunity offered by SOPA section 104;
- Serious constitutional issues in regards to due process and seizure of property.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...