Yesterday, digital and traditional media alike were buzzing with discussions about the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) under consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate respectively. I had the privilege of being invited to appear on WBIR-TV to discuss the backlash against SOPA/PIPA and what it means for consumers, businesses and the spirit of innovation.
Let’s be clear about one thing. I don’t support digital piracy or copyright infringement. It is bad for businesses, such as our clients, who create intellectual property. These property rights must be protected and there are, in fact, a series of laws already on the books that address the scourge of piracy.
That being said, it is my opinion that SOPA/PIPA is a case of the cure being far worse than the disease.
At its core, SOPA/PIPA would create a “national Internet” that lives separately from the rest of the world—in opposition to the very concept that makes the Internet the valuable communications and business tool it is today and will continue to be in the future.
Rather than targeting actual pirates and rouge websites, SOPA/PIPA is an attempt to restructure the Internet itself, making access to tools created for the Internet more difficult to achieve for the overwhelming majority of law-abiding users simply because the tools might be used illegally by a few. To provide an analog equivalent, it is as if the National Transportation Safety Board mandated the best way to reduce speeding on interstates is to close all the access ramps.
While the entertainment companies have legitimate concerns about piracy, the solution will not be found in using legislation as a virtual time machine to transport their audiences to an era before the emergence of the World Wide Web and social networks.
In an attempt to squash the exchange of intellectual property for free, SOPA/PIPA actually ends up setting its sights on the free exchange of ideas. Innovation in new search engines, web sites, network services, and business and personal communications tools would be stifled as creators could be deemed liable if the tools were used for piracy, regardless of the original intent. Fear of creating new tools not only affects the bottom line of tech companies, but it hinders the ability for other businesses to make use of those tools to improve efficiency, quality, communications and, ultimately, profits.
Here’s the clip from my appearance yesterday talking about SOPA/PIPA.
