INTERNET BLACKLIST SENATE HEARINGS 11/16/2011:

THIS IS WHAT CENSORSHIP FEELS LIKE..DON'T FORGET TO SIGN THE PETITION ABOVE UNDER THE CENSOR BLOCK.
(EDITORS NOTE: I'll DRAFT this journal entry after 12 AM EST 11/17/2011 so you can see the ITP V.011 art work/logo and header)
On 11/16/2011 the U.S. CONGRESS will hold hearings on internet censorship issues as this is what is at stake:
On Wednesday 11/16 there will be an Internet-wide day of protest against the Internet Blacklist bill. Can you participate?
On 11/16, Congress holds hearings on the first American Internet censorship system.
This bill can pass. If it does the Internet and free speech will never be the same.
Join all of us on the 16th to stop this bill.
Website Blocking
The government and corporations can order service providers to block websites for infringing links posted by any users.
Risk of Jail for Ordinary Users
It becomes a felony with a potential 5 year sentence to stream a copyrighted work that would cost more than $2,500 to license, even if you are a totally noncommercial user, e.g. singing a pop song on Facebook.
Chaos for the Internet
Thousands of sites that are legal under the DMCA would face new legal threats. People trying to keep the internet more secure wouldn't be able to rely on the integrity of the DNS system.
On 11/16, Congress holds hearings on the first American Internet censorship system.
This bill can pass. If it does the Internet and free speech will never be the same.
Join all of us on the 16th to stop this bill.
Website Blocking
The government and corporations can order service providers to block websites for infringing links posted by any users.
Risk of Jail for Ordinary Users
It becomes a felony with a potential 5 year sentence to stream a copyrighted work that would cost more than $2,500 to license, even if you are a totally noncommercial user, e.g. singing a pop song on Facebook.
Chaos for the Internet
Thousands of sites that are legal under the DMCA would face new legal threats. People trying to keep the internet more secure wouldn't be able to rely on the integrity of the DNS system.
How you can help
On Wednesday 11/16 there will be an Internet-wide day of protest against the Internet Blacklist bill. Can you participate?

Do you run a website? Join us on November 16 to stop this law!
Be a part of American Censorship Day

Grab the code below to 'censor' your website logo.
Email us to add you to the list of participating sites:



On midnight November 16, post the code to your site.
Code to 'censor' your website logo

Simply include this image link code in the html for your site. A black censored bar will appear. Use the absolute positioning parameters to place the bar over your logo. Use width and height parameters to fit it to your site. That's it! You can also modify our image yourself if you prefer, and link to the same URL that appears in the code above.
"Censor" your own logo for this day of action

This 'stop censorship' message leads to a page where users will contact their congressional representatives. Here's how it looks:

This Bill is an Emergency for the Internet
Watch and then share this video





Read what the experts have to say in the quotes below



House takes Senate's bad Internet censorship bill, tries making it worse
Protect The Internet
SOPA: Hollywood Finally Gets A Chance to Break the Internet
SOPA on OpenCongress
PIPA on OpenCongress
PARTICIPATING SITES

Reddit

Public Knowledge

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Free Software Foundation

Free Press

PPF (Open Congress)

Boing Boing

Creative Commons

Grooveshark

Demand Progress

Hype Machine

Techdirt

Irregular Times

Engine Advocacy

Center for Democracy and Technology

Fight for the Future
Full list coming soon...
This bill is a real threat and could pass this month. We can't be half hearted, now is the time.
REACTIONS TO THIS BILL, "SOPA" H.R.3261

"These bills were written by the content industry without any input from the technology industry. And they are trying to fast track them through congress and into law without any negotiation with the technology industry."
- Fred Wilson (Union Square Ventures)

"SOPA, regrettably, represents a big step backward in Washington's efforts to support the digital revolution, one of the only sectors of the economy that continues to grow."
- Larry Downes (TechFreedom)

"[SOPA would] overturn the long-accepted principles and practices [of the DMCA] in favor of a one-sided enforcement mechanism that is far more broad than existing law while not attempting to protect the rights of anyone accused of copyright infringement."
- Gigi B. Sohn (President of Public Knowledge)

"It contains provisions that will chill innovation. It contains provisions that will tinker with the fundamental fabric of the internet. It gives private corporations the power to censor. And best of all, it bypasses due legal process to do much of it."
- James Allworth (Harvard Business School)

"The main "enforcement" mechanism in these bills is to put liability on third party service providers coming from the tech industry, undermining the safe harbors of the DMCA and the legal framework that has allowed tons of important internet platforms to evolve."
- Mike Masnick (TechDirt)
"This is a move that threatens, rather than protects, property rights, and also threatens America's Internet and tech leadership."
- Neil Stevens (RedState.com)
Press contact: press@fightforthefuture.org or (508) 474-5248
American Censorship Day organized by:
VIDEO BELOW: INTERNET CENSORSHIP:


Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-BBL-\m/ -l-