Another Reason to HATE Politicians - Bad News

[nopersonality]

I've got some terrible news for everyone. Thanks to Republicans & other Politicians, there is a new bill that has A VERY GOOD CHANCE to get passed called the "Protect IP Bill."

Click on this video to get just a taste of the horror that awaits us:

vimeo.com/31100268

It's called a few other things but if it is passed... guess what happens? Steve could go to jail for 5 years. As could I. As could every single person who posts ANYTHING the bill deems as copyrighted material. See, what the Bill is trying to do is not only increase punishment for ALL forms of copyright infringement, but it will also eliminate protection as defined by The Constitution, Fair Use, etc. If the Bill passes and it is not Vetoed, Corporations now have the power to shut down YouTube. Oh yeah. You heard that right. They can also shut down Facebook and Twitter. As well as MySpace, Blip (Thatguywiththeglasses.com - aka: The Nostalgia Critic), blogs and message boards. As well as THOUSANDS of other websites, etc.

And that is only the beginning. If this Bill passes, it will open the door to the possibility for Corporations to control ANY video and soon after any text that is distributed over the internet. If you post a political opinion that disagrees with theirs, it's possible they can shut you down. ALSO, with Corporations given the power to control the internet- they can also weaken security settings on personal computers. I'm not saying they want to give us viruses but not only CAN THEY if they decide they want to, but they can also make us more susceptible to viruses by mistake.

Here's another hopefully helpful link:

americancensorship.org

[StevePulaski]

This is insane. Can they really do this (rhetorical question)? I just went through and deleted a lot of my videos that I uploaded from the TV and what not. But I don't know if this thing will get passed. It seems extremely fishy, and flawed. But who knows?

[StevePulaski]

Watch this video. It explains and elaborates a whole lot more. This guy is so spot on.

[nopersonality]

Yeah, he's the guy who got me to start paying attention. When he was talking, he wasn't even that sure it would pass.

I've been looking around since and a LOT of other official sources are more than 85% sure that it will pass. The people behind this Bill are not messing around. They're putting a lot of money into this, getting a lot of politicians involved and arranging for them to get bigtime favors if they pass it.

If it does pass, the only hope we have left is the veto.

[StevePulaski]

Due to minimal news coverage (another thing to thank your government for) I can hardly find any credible sources. All I have is that guy's word, blog posts, and rumors to rely on. Rumor has it that Obama will veto if it comes on his desk (if so, I'll have some ever-growing respect for him). Thank you for changing the title. I mean, yes this is cause of Republicans but Democrats are starting to support it too. Both divisions of Congress are at a bipartisan (which is extremely rare and dangerous). This is definitely serious.

But it brings up the question - will websites close? Everything is just "what if's" and assumptions. DSPGAMING posted a video today saying that Youtube will either be drastically changed or just shut down permanently. If this bill is passed, God help us, Youtube will likely cease uploaders for a view days to try and come up with a solution to the problem so they can pay even closer attention to what users are uploading. For example, hire many more people so they can watch EACH any EVERY ONE of the videos that are uploaded daily. Have any idea how long that will take? It will bring new videos to a staggering halt if they have to be reviewed by a human being.

Also - I doubt you and I will be jailed because of our clips and music we upload. Think about it; we aren't profiting or taking credit for the work we display on Youtube. We make this clear (well, I do). I removed a lot of my Television show clips, but my short films occupy music and I am not removing those until this bill passes (I have them on Dvd so if worse comes to worse and they get deleted they'll never be lost permanently). But really, we are not profiting from the clips we upload unless you turn on or join AdSense which I doubt you're in on.

I'm beginning to get paranoid. I signed a petition, sent a letter to my Congressman and everything. THIS is why I will not vote when I'm eighteen. Both parties are full of crooked, stubborn, arrogant, indulgent criminals who just want money in their pocket and another guaranteed four year term.