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| Washington Post (2012) Retrieved April 11, 2012, from: URL http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/01/18/Style/Images/sospmix.jpg |
CISPA is very similar to SOPA, as it is said to combat online piracy and protect and enforce copyright and patents. It is too similar although, as like its predecessor, due to the broad terms it uses in regards to a "cyber threat," as it describes in pages 10-11 of the Congress discussion draft. As taken from this draft;
"-it protects a system or network from-
(A) efforts to degrade, disrupt, or destroy such system or network; or
(B) theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information."
Due to the broad range of interpretation that this definition presents, this bill could easily stifle free speech. The world has already seen the power of free speech on the internet through the Arab Spring and more recently the SOPA blackout. It is what allows us to post and update whatever findings we come across on the web like databases such as on fellow ALES204 student Becky Bohlender's blog; Pro MED-Mail. Free speech is the power that people have and use in a democratic country, and stifling it in any way does not seem like a very democratic-friendly thing to do.
Thank-you for the insightful post! This is such a tricky and touchy subject - governments have a long way to go before finding a solution. In an ideal world, governments would agree on a bill that balanced freedom of speech with protection of copyrights and patents. I believe that freedom of speech on the internet must remain; one of wonderful things the internet gives us is the ability to collaborate with and learn from people around the world, and to access music, movies, documents, photos, etc. However, I do not think that the internet can continue to run rampant. There are reasons for copyright laws and patents. If the internet gives people a way to circumvent these laws, then the laws themselves become redundant. It will be very interesting to see what comes of these anti-piracy acts and how governments decide to proceed.
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