The problems with SOPA and PIPA are numerous, but they condense to one unavoidable point: Both pieces of legislation give sweeping censorship powers to corporations. This will not only increase self censorship- it will stifle future innovation and creativity by making the internet a riskier place to start new businesses, which in turn will lead to fewer and more cautious investors. This is actually what corporations like the MPAA and RIAA want. This isn't really about piracy because these bills don't really have chance at stopping piracy. This is about shutting down competition.
One of the founders of Veoh details how Universal Music (UMG) through a completely groundless lawsuit abused the DMCA and ultimately forced him to sell the start-up off in a fire sale.
Today Ars Technica is contributing to the fight against these two extremely dangerous pieces of legislation by arming the populace with loads of information.
Artists (you know, the "content generators" that SOPA and PIPA are going to murder the internet to allegedly protect) say that the bills would do far more harm than good.
Google has a take action page.
In case you're still unclear:
Alright, here's a song:
Finally, somethings never change (language warning):
Contact your Congress people.
Update: A host of webcomics are participating in the blackout strike.
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