SOPA and PIPA

As current affairs is an important part of our trailer's narrative, the recent Sopa/Pipa debate has been an interesting development within the news that has links to our trailer.

Sopa and Pipa are United States bills that have been introduced by Lamar Smith (R) and Patrick Leahy (D) to combat online piracy. While proponents of the bills claim that they will protect the intellectual property of its owners, there is a divide in the US, and the world, over whether the bills will achieve anything at all. Some argue that the bills will do quite the opposite and will actually restrict the "free" internet. Examples of the "bigger" opponents to the bills include Wikipedia, which held a 24 hour "blackout" of its website in protest over Sopa and Pipa, and Google, which "censored" its doodle.

"Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge": The sight that greeted visitors to the Wikipedia site during its blackout.

Google's censored doodle in protest over Sopa

The Obama Administration issued a statement that included: "While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet." Essentially, the Obama Administration appears to be taking an opposing stance on the issue of Sopa and Pipa.

The internet community has issued large-scale opposition to the bills, and "hacktivist" groups such as Anonymous have already started cyber-attacks on US sites. On a lighter note, the humour of the internet community is still alive and well over the issue, as seen through the meme of "Conspiracy Keanu".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16628143