Stop SOPA and PIPA

Here's an issue that Red State Updaters on both the left and right can get behind. SOPA, the Stop Online  Piracy Act, and PIPA the Senate version of the same bill would basically destroy the internet as we know it. While I support the effort to stop piracy, this is a deeply flawed bill. It gives anyone the ability to shut a website down by just making a claim to that websites ISP that there is copyrighted content on there( like a youtube video). Because ISPs( internet service providers) can't possibly police all the content on the web, they'll  comply just to avoid heavy fines. But anyone can make the claim, and even if it's wrong or fraudulent, they'll be granted immunity as long as they made it in good faith. They don't even have to be the copyright holders or have any relation to them. Meanwhile the illegal file sharers' will continue what they're doing using workarounds like "the dark web"'. There are Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate on both sides of this issue. The people who support it don't really understand how the internet works. Here's some links:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/technology/web-protests-piracy-bi...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act

The bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Justice to seek court orders against websites outside U.S. jurisdiction accused of infringing on copyrights, or of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement.^[4] After delivering a court order, the U.S. Attorney General could require US-directed Internet service providers, ad networks, and payment processors to suspend doing business with sites found to infringe on federal criminal intellectual property laws. The Attorney General could also bar search engines from displaying links to the sites.^[13]

The bill also establishes a two-step process for intellectual property rights holders to seek relief if they have been harmed by a site dedicated to infringement. The rights holder must first notify, in writing, related payment facilitators and ad networks of the identity of the website, who, in turn, must then forward that notification and suspend services to that identified website, unless that site provides a counter notification explaining how it is not in violation. The rights holder can then sue for limited injunctive relief against the site operator, if such a counter notification is provided, or if the payment or advertising services fail to suspend service in the absence of a counter notification.^[13]

The bill provides immunity from liability to the ad and payment networks that comply with this Act or that take voluntary action to cut ties to such sites. Any copyright holder who knowingly misrepresents that a website is dedicated to infringement would be liable for damages.^[4] The second section increases the penalties for streaming video and for selling counterfeit drugs, military materials or consumer goods. The bill would increase the penalties for unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content^{[for uploaders, downloaders, or hosts? clarification needed]} and other intellectual property offenses.^[1

http://calitics.com/diary/14115/confessions-of-a-hollywood-professi...

Here's an online petition:

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/