tor-webwml.git

1) ## translation metadata
2) # Revision: $Revision: 25296 $
3) # Translation-Priority: 2-medium
4) 
5) #include "head.wmi" TITLE="Blackout Against Copyright Overreach: Stop SOPA and PIPA" CHARSET="UTF-8"
6) 
7) <div id="content" class="clearfix">
8)   <div id="maincol">
9)     <!-- PUT CONTENT AFTER THIS TAG -->

10)     <h1><a href="https://blog.torproject.org/blog/blackout-against-copyright-overreach-stop-sopa-and-pipa">Blackout Against Copyright Overreach: Stop SOPA and PIPA</a></h1>

11) <hr>
12) <p>
13) The Tor Project doesn't usually get involved with U.S. copyright
14) debates. But SOPA and PIPA (the House's "Stop Online Piracy Act" and the
15) Senate's "Protect-IP Act") go beyond enforcement of copyright. These
16) copyright bills would strain the infrastructure of the Internet, on
17) which many free communications -- anonymous or identified -- depend.
18) Originally, the bills proposed that so-called "rogue sites" should be
19) blocked through the Internet's Domain Name System (DNS). That would have
20) broken DNSSEC security and shared U.S. censorship tactics with those of
21) China's "great firewall."
22) </p>
23) 
24) <p>
25) Now, while we hear that DNS-blocking is off the table, the bills remain
26) threatening to the network of intermediaries who carry online speech. Most
27) critically to Tor, SOPA contained a provision forbidding "circumvention"
28) of court-ordered blocking that was written broadly enough that it <a
29) href="http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2011/12/15/stopping-sopas-anti-circumvention.html">could
30) apply to Tor</a> -- which helps its users to "circumvent"
31) local-network censorship.  Further, both bills broaden the reach of
32) intermediary liability, to hold conduits and search engines liable
33) for user-supplied infringement. The private rights of action and
34) "safe harbors" could force or encourage providers to censor well
35) beyond the current DMCA's "notice and takedown" provision (of which <a
36) href="https://www.chillingeffects.org/">Chilling Effects</a> documents
37) numerous burdens and abuses).
38) </p>
39) 
40) <p>
41) On January 18, we're joining <a
42) href="https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/01/16/wikipedias-community-calls-for-anti-sopa-blackout-january-18/">Wikipedia</a>,
43) <a
44) href="http://blog.reddit.com/2012/01/stopped-they-must-be-on-this-all.html">Reddit</a>,
45) the <a
46) href="http://blog.media.mit.edu/2012/01/media-lab-is-against-sopa-and-pipa.html">MIT
47) Media Lab</a>, and <a href="http://americancensorship.org/">hundreds of
48) others</a> in protest, turning a portion of the Tor site black to call
49) attention to copyright balance and remind the US Congress and voters of
50) the value of the open Internet.
51) </p>
52) 
53) <p>
54) U.S. citizens, please call or write, to <a
55) href="http://americancensorship.org/">urge your representatives to stop
56) SOPA and PIPA</a>. Elsewhere in the world, keep an eye out for similar
57) legislation. and bring the fight there too.
58) </p>
59) 
60)     <hr>

61)     <h1>The above is a static version of our January 18 <a href="https://blog.torproject.org/blog/blackout-against-copyright-overreach-stop-sopa-and-pipa">blog post</a>.</h1>