This is a very important issue guys. There's a bill thats on its way to passing that will take the free Internet from Americans and flush it down the toilet. It will ban certain websites w/ copyright content and throw certain people in prison for use of copyrighted materials (including people who make amvs, mmvs, and any other fan based video that holds copyrighted content.). Here's why you should be concerned:
If this bill passes, here are some of the things you may want to expect:
- If you're an amv, mmv artist, expect to have your video channel banned at the very least, and prison time at the very worst. Up to 5 years of prison per video.
- If you read copyrighted materials online (manga for instance), expect those to get banned
- If you watch anime online, expect that to go away too
- You'll have to watch what you post: No longer will you be able to freely post copyrighted images as examples if you're an artist (this will be a big issue even for professional artists who keep a blog).
- Anything: video, web page, etc. with a copyrighted music track could be at risk for being banned.
And yet though the worries that have caused for this bill to be proposed are not unfounded, there are even bigger reasons to oppose it. Namely because everything in our society is a remix of something else.
Everything Is A Remix: THE MATRIX from robgwilson.com on Vimeo.
Everything's a Remix - Part III: The Elements of Creativity
Furthermore, it would give the government the confidence to start proposing other bills to take even more freedoms from us. And if you think it isn't possible, look at our current government policies regarding airport search and seizure, detaining of possible terrorist members, and phone and e-mail tap procedures. If the government isn't stopped here, with this bill, there is no telling what they may take next.
Don't let it happen without a fight: StopCensorship.org
And on a note of rather negative practicality... The nerds who spend their lives on the internet enjoy a free atmosphere. If you put a limit to where they can go and what they can do, organized criminal hacking is not far behind. This is a serious matter. Don't let it get that far:
For a more thorough explanation of what exactly this bill will cover, go to the article from the Verge
