The internet went dark yesterday as websites took a stand against the proposed SOPA and PIPA online piracy and copyright bills.
It would be a devastating blow to the internet if these new pieces of legislation went into force, stopping people from posting images or content that they do not own the copyright to.
It is designed to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. It would flag sites that infringe on copyright rules, and bar advertising networks from conducting business with them, stop search engines from linking to them and force Internet service providers to block access to them.
SOPA - the Stop Online Piracy Act - would criminalize the streaming of any copyright infringing content, and impose a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Websites like YouTube would be vastly affected, and many websites such as Facebook and Tumblr wouldn't be able to post and circulate images as they do now. Imagine a world where we couldn't post endless images of Marilyn Monroe, I'd never have known this image of her with a bow and arrow ever existed!
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