I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me… An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of CENSORED comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! - Aragorn, in The L*** of the R****: The R***** of the K***
Part I: Recapitulation
It was not until the blackout of Wikipedia English and Google that most people came to notice the existence of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). A US bill aimed at protecting intellectual property and eliminating illegal trafficking, SOPA tries to establish censorship over the Internet and block websites outside US that infringe copyrights. If enacted, SOPA would essentially require search engines to delete links to the websites and Internet service providers to block users’ access to the websites, virtually making those websites disappear. The cousin of SOPA in the US Senate is called the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). Interestingly, SOPA also identifies protection against counterfeit drugs as one of its goalsSOPA was introduced to the House on October 26, 2011, and it immediately stirred a heated discussion. Companies, organizations, governments and individuals stated different stances on SOPA.
The music and movie industry unequivocally supports SOPA. Strong proponents include the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the famous constituents of which are Sony, Warner, Disney, Universal, etc. The Internet industry, however, has united to oppose SOPA. Many websites and online service providers have expressed their protest against SOPA, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Mozilla, Amazon, eBay, Wikipedia, etc.
Despite their long-term collaboration, the armies of Hollywood and the forces of Silicon Valley finally stood against each other. War has started.
Both sides fought hard to protect their grounds, and things quickly became more and more complicated. New topics were raised: Online freedom of speech, Internet and Domain Name System security and privacy issues suddenly emerged. Company CEOs, lobbyists, writers, musicians and web users all rolled-up their sleeves and jumped into the battlefield. The battles were also scaling up: on January 14, 2012, More than 100,000 people participated in the White House petition regarding SOPA.
The war climaxed on January 18, when about 7,000 websites, with Wikipedia as the flag bearer, coordinated a blackout that raised the awareness of over 160 million people of the potential harm of SOPA to the Internet. Google quickly followed by rallying over 7 million people to boycott SOPA’s supporters. The Blitz gained the Internet force the upper hand.
However, their enemy were stronger than they thought. RIAA quickly retaliated by criticizing the websites for inciting people with misinformation. On January 19, Hollywood received reinforcements from Washington D.C. Megaupload, a widely known website for file sharing, was shut down by US Department of Justice.
Silicon Valley proved not easily subdued. On the same day, several websites of pro-SOPA organizations were attacked by a group of hackers, Anonymous. Nasty tricks were introduced.
It seemed that the war would never end, until January 20, when House Judiciary Committee Chairman decided to postpone drafting the bill “until there is wider agreement on a solution,” putting the war to a truce. But everyone knows it is just an intermission.
Part II: Ruminations
Every war has a cause. Despite camouflage and excuses, in a world driven by capital, the main cause of the war between Hollywood and Silicon Valley is, doubtlessly, money. Following Rational Choices, both sides seek to maximize their profits.
Music and movie companies have long been harmed by piracy. Although they have made progress in battling against illegal file sharing through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the notorious Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems, the intellectual property pirates managed to circumvent the regulation by various means: Setting up the server in foreign countries, declaring that they are not responsible for the contents uploaded, etc. The pirates in the Digital Era showed equal slyness as their ancestors in the Age of Sail. The annual loss due to piracy is estimated to be $2.9 billion in US. No wonder why copyright-dependent companies such as film and music companies want those websites blacklisted forever.
On the other hand, the prosperity of Internet industry depends entirely on the flourishing of online activities. Revenues are calculated from the number of visits, profits are deduced from the number of downloads. Any hindrance to the popularity of the websites or online services would potentially disrupt the benefits of Internet companies. It is worth noting that Silicon Valley is not entirely united; companies offering services like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are in fervent protest against SOPA, whereas software makers relying on product sales have expressed some support for it.
More importantly, so far neither side would make any compromise as it may signal softness. In wars, benevolence for enemies is cruelty to self.
As for freedom issues involved, the conflicts stem from the fact that US is a country that highly values liberty and individualism. Apparently, the freedom to seek whatever information one wants on the Internet and the right to protect things that one has created from piracy fall into the “having the cake vs. eating the cake” dilemma: It is simply impossible to guarantee both.
There are also worries about security and privacy. Indeed, even if SOPA is enacted, the “hackers” would always find trickier ways to evade the regulations and continue to enjoy, the lay people would suffer from heavier and heavier surveillance and interruption.
One final reflection is whether knowledge should be proprietary or not. Richard Stallman, who felt disappointed at the decline of the hacker culture at MIT, founded the Free Software Foundation, and began advocating for open source software. Today many people are benefiting from the GNU Project and the General Public License (GPL), which allowed us to share knowledge and insights without demanding any profits. He proved that if everyone contributes, everyone benefits, and people do not have to make money out of each other to survive.
The war between Hollywood and Silicon Valley will definitely continue. Whatever the outcome, it reveals the very nature of mankind. And how far are we from a world where there is real justice and fairness, instead of manipulations and machinations?
—Xiaohan Zeng
References:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act
2. http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57329001-281/how-sopa-would-affect-you-faq/
3. http://www.politico.com
4. http://contactpakistan.com