Six things we couldn't do under SOPA

I am a criminal.

Frankly on paper SOPA isn't that bad of an idea it's just the way they are going about it that's wrong.

Yes we need to stop piracy as it ruins the industry not just for the developers but for us loyal fans who go out and buy the games, with things like the online pass. Especially when they do what they did with Batman: AC.

Not to mention all those guides and lets plays on youtube and other sites will be taken down.

Perhaps if they changed it ALOT, then maybe just maybe it'll stop piracy without screwing with the internet as a whole. It's just amazing how a bill from the US can screw with those of us outside of the US who use the internet for things that we enjoy in day to day life.

Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. They just need to re-word everything and everything will be ok, I read that if you know the ISP you can still get to the website, so what is the point anyway?

I agree with you Plasma, but the biggest problem with anything like SOPA is that technology moves too quickly for it to work. If you passed a law that prohibited all known forms of piracy, they would just come up with another way of doing it. It's the nature of computers; the 14 year olds in their bedrooms who view themselves as rebelling against the system are always better and more imaginative than the people working for the FBI and internet fraud team of MI5. The law would be out of date before it is passed.

To get around this you have to pass a very murkily worded law that can cover future developments you haven't even thought of yet, that even if it is passed with the best of intentions almost has abuse built in. Even if every publisher and corporation get together and agree they will turn a blind eye to 'good will' use like youtube walk throughs and google image, it would only take small change in the way America views itself and free speech and suddenly anyone who questioned American politics or it's government would find themselves on the wrong end of an act that doesn't allow for a right to appeal or trial; a technological Camp X-ray.

Sorry to get heavy and political; normal service will now resume.

The difficult part of all this is that a US bill only affects the US, but internet sites are global, so who gets jurisdiction? Usually it is the home country of the site, so US largely, but what if its a UK site such as oxm? Well, this is a grey area as a US law has no effect on anyone in the UK, so logically you'd think the same would be the case here, but it can also be argued that the internet has no borders. In the end, it would likely turn out that oxmuk would be utterly unaffected directly, but it owuld be blocked from US based search engines and isp's meaning no one in the US could access the site, and US based search engines, like google, wouldn't be able to search for it no matter which country it is accessed from because it is a US company. What I would next expect to see happen is companies like google and youtube, relocating overseas, causing large job losses in the US, but freeing them up from the constraints of this law.

I just don't think these people realize just how much this will cost, how big an impact it will have on people and legitimate businesses. Even if it gets passed through congress, it wouldn't take long for it to be repealed. There is also the possibility that Obama could veto it if he a)felt it was necessary (which, considering elections are coming up, is a possibility as it will score him a lot of points with voters) and b) they control enough votes, so the veto couldn't be overturned. The Democrats aren't going to want to give up the white house after one term, so they'll largely support any veto Obama makes, and the Republicans will vote as they feel they must, but one thing is certain, it is highly unlikely to be a splite down party lines. It all depends on if Obama wants to get involved to this extent or not.

@ Grummy

From a couple of news items I've read SOPA has already been delayed because Obama didn't like it and threatened a veto for just the reasons you stated, as well as freedom of speech concerns so he is definately involved already. Just have to wait and see if it gets reworded to an extent whereby it passes, and see what affect it will have then.

I'm glad Obama has admitted the bill has come from ignorance of how the Internet works and would only cause problems for everyone other than the pirates. Trouble is, the big media businesses pulling the strings of the dumbasses who created the bill won't let it rest. SOPA/PIPA concern us in this country because our judges are quite happy to ship people off to the US for prosecution, the recent TVShack case being a prime example.

Blaming the Internet for piracy is like saying BT is responsible for hoax 999 calls. The medium is not the culprit, a small minority of the users are.

I am a criminal.

if this bill is passed then i propose us and our fellow law-breakers must rise up and take to America (as soon as we can book a flight) to Layeth the Smack Down on the Candy Arses of those responsible

Well, my career as an aspiring games journalist could be cut off before it's even begun if this idiocy is put into first gear and rammed straight into social mediums like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. I will proceed to scream my defiance on the front doorstep, waving a Union Jack in the rainy streets of London, and declare, "Share your game footage, brothers and sisters, capture it and take your screenshots! Quote your 'Arrow to the Knee' memes even if they're not funny anymore. There are not enough courts to prosecute us all!"

Anyone want to take a £20 bet that I could attract more followers than the God-bothering fraternity?

If there's an ounce of common sense amongst the US Congress, this will be thrown out on the grounds that its wording is far too ambiguous. And then I won't have to make myself look like a total idiot outside my flat.

If there's an ounce of common sense amongst the US Congress, this will be thrown out on the grounds that its wording is far too ambiguous.

Since US politics is based on how much money you can raise for your campaign, it's riddled with corruption, since the people who get elected don't want to p*** off the people who gave them the money to get elected. The DMCA, which is draconian enough but is nothing compared to SOPA/PIPA, was forced into law by the same kind of self-serving pr***s that have dreamt up this latest Orwellian nightmare.

If there's an ounce of common sense amongst the US Congress, this will be thrown out on the grounds that its wording is far too ambiguous.

Since US politics is based on how much money you can raise for your campaign, it's riddled with corruption, since the people who get elected don't want to p*** off the people who gave them the money to get elected. The DMCA, which is draconian enough but is nothing compared to SOPA/PIPA, was forced into law by the same kind of self-serving pr***s that have dreamt up this latest Orwellian nightmare.

Not so different from our own political parties, then. I think they'll find this law loses them more than they gain, if nothing else because piracy will continue under different conditions, as our friend Mr. Cunning stated, and they'll lose the promotional value of a consumer base that's able to share information freely.

Honestly, even if SOPA does stop piracy it will have a marginally noticeable effect at best. Most people who pirate only do so because they can't afford to buy all the entertainment they would like and/or the opportunity is there. If they were unable to pirate, they wouldn't suddenly start purchasing games and music and films. There would be some kind of increase in profit, but I doubt it would be anything spectacular.

In fact, some artists (I include games developers under this label, although tbh the argument doesn't apply to them as much) would actually lose out. For many, piracy acts as a kind of 'try-before-you-buy' tool. A lot of artists only gain popular attention because their stuff has been pirated and spread around the net.

I've yet to see anybody who has suffered serious loss thanks to online piracy, so I say what's the harm? Is it really worth destabilising the foundation of the internet and attacking freedom of expression just to cater to bigwigs at the head of multimedia companies?

Illuminati written all over it...

It's not just this Bill that will seriously shape the way we view our personal freedoms, it seems every western nation is becoming more fascist so to speak.
With the NDAA bill signed by none other than Obama himself on new years day, Technocrats in Rome, and the disgrace that is Keneth Clarke and his UK Bill of Rights Commission trying to give MP's the power to label their blunders as "Against Public Interest" allowing them to hold "Secret Inquires" and virtually murdering dealing justice to the most powerful.
But that's life in the 21st Century.

I predict worldwide rioting if this actually happens, yeah its not gonna be pretty.

How to piss off everyone in the world:

I think worldwide society would disintegrate if we were no longer able to download free pr0n. Obama knows this.

If we can't download porn then the terrorists have won!

Well, these aren't happening. They've been shelved indefinitely until 'wider agreements' can be made. I assume that means 'until they actually say what the hell they intend to do'.