How SOPA Anti-Piracy Bill Could Affect Nonprofits

A number of high-profile websites, including Wikipedia and Reddit, have shut down Wednesday to protest proposed anti-piracy legislation, and some experts say that nonprofits could benefit from joining the “blackout.”

The SOPA Strike is protesting the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act, a bill that aims to put a stop to selling pirated or counterfeit goods. While the bill would protect movie studios and record labels, websites accused of copyright infringement could get shut down with neither a trial nor a traditional court hearing.

Experts say that these bills may impose suffocating costs and censorship, to which nonprofits would not be immune.

If a nonprofit's site was cited under SOPA, it may also hurt visibility online. Content that could potentially be cited under SOPA includes infringing-looking links, according to AmericanCensorship.org. This would result in blocked web traffic and ad revenue.

It's simply not a necessary precaution, nonprofit Public Knowledge asserts, stating on its site that the bill simply doesn't actually do enough to justify its existence.

"To make it worse, SOPA is ineffective. So the question is, is an ineffective bill worth the risk of damaging free speech and the functioning of the Internet? We say no."

The real toll for nonprofits may come in the way of donations. SOPA would block suspicious sites' DNS servers, which translate .com names into IP addresses. But messing with DNS servers could directly affect a nonprofit's donation process, as interfering with these servers makes a site more vulnerable to identity theft, and cyberattacks, according to Public Knowledge

Global Voices, an international volunteer community of citizen journalists, has published 75,000 posts in the last six years in more than 20 languages. The organization is “going dark” for 12 hours Wednesday to demonstrate its opposition to the bills.

“We rely on the open Internet to carry out our mission,” Global Voices wrote on its website. “We are concerned this law would will inflict broad damage on the work of digital activists living under repressive regimes, as well as restrict basic speech freedoms around the world.”

For more information on the SOPA and PIPA Acts, click here. Or visit Public Knowledge to spread the word online or create your own fundraiser.

CORRECTION: This story originally attributed information from Public Knowledge to Razoo. Razoo simply hosts Public Knowledge's fundraising page. The post has been updated to reflect the change.

Comments

[wildzfan]

04:06 PM on 01/19/2012

Look for the underlying reason for this bill. Politicians want this bill passed so people can't spoof political commercials or make fun of them via youtube. LOL That is where the funny stuff is and would probably be one of the first sites to go if this bill is passed.

[captwasabi]

02:39 PM on 01/19/2012

"The SOPA Strike is protesting the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act, a bill that aims to put a stop to selling pirated or counterfeit goods. While the bill would protect movie studios and record labels, websites accused of copyright infringement could get shut down with neither a trial nor a traditional court hearing."

I'm amazed at the propensity with which this lie is continually being repeated. Never mind that SOPA clearly sets for the guidelines for an In Rem legal action. All other actions must be In Personam. All actions taken for relief must be done so only with a court order.

Churchhill was right. A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth can even get its pants on.

[oheart]

01:41 PM on 01/18/2012

I think it's time to let all legislators supporting this, no matter which party, that they are due for a boycott of campaign funding from us 'little folk'. Maybe Google et all also need to get off their butts and protest, too.

[dimplesmile7]

01:26 PM on 01/18/2012

GOP if you censor the internet, you will be finished as a party. This will be the final nail in your coffin.

[oheart]

01:37 PM on 01/18/2012

Gotta buy plenty of nails; maybe silver plated.

[Cunningham]

03:34 AM on 01/19/2012

It's not just the GOP on this one. Many Dems are for SOPA & PIPA.

Email them, fax the, call them, sign every petition you can to say "NO!". Gotta keep the pressure on them to stop this draconian silliness.

[greenlord]

12:43 PM on 01/18/2012

Far Far away In the Land if Itally. Their lived an Overlord named Belusconi who Owned all the Countries Media Outlets, and could feed the Sheeple of Italia whatever Hooie he wanted. For years he slept around with underage women and threw lavish parties and frittered away the Countries money to whomever he chose. And the Sheeple Loved him dearly because they Never Knew. All because he could CENSOR everything the Sheeple heard on TV and the Newspapers etc....Except for on the Internet! GHASP!!! His Evil Deeds could be found out!!!

Now he's tied up in court being accused of Evil Overlordship Fraud, Sex with Minors (not Miners!) and otherwise being a Very Naughty Dude!

Thank You Free Interweb Cloud I'm so Glad that nobody has Corrupted you with CENSORSHIP!

[greenlord]

12:36 PM on 01/18/2012

CENSORSHIP!

[greenlord]

12:36 PM on 01/18/2012

I wonder if the google paid Censor will Censor this comment because I'm using the Wicked Rebellious freedom of speech term...CENSORSHIP!

[greenlord]

12:31 PM on 01/18/2012

Did somebody say something offensive about the Queen of Hearts?...OFFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!!

Censorship is Bad!

[greenlord]

12:24 PM on 01/18/2012

This Message has been shut down due to reasons only known to the Overlords who wrote SOPA!

[greenlord]

12:22 PM on 01/18/2012

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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XXX!!!!

[daregoni]

11:33 AM on 01/18/2012

Make up your mind. You either WANT more gov't or you don't. This is exactly why the threat of more and bigger gov't and Liberalism/Obama is knocked. We ALL lose in the end.

[greenlord]

12:29 PM on 01/18/2012

You're seeing it incorrectly...It's not the Quantity of the govt that's the problem....take a King for instance it's not How Many Dictators or no "chewing gum" laws. but more of a qeustion of Who do they work for?....Who Pays the Bills of our Legislators? We the People through their Salary?...Or their lobbyists who are buying monopolies, Earmarks, Trade law Exemptions, Purchase Mandates, and other anti-Competition and anti Free Market Laws that give them a Greater profit. margin. If We had One Govt employee and He Worked for OH say Himself as King. He'd still be a Tyrant. What we need is our Lawmakers answering to we the People again. Not just giving us the spin and their Bribers the loopholed, Earmarked, Corrupted, Freedom Killing Legislation.

[daregoni]

12:45 PM on 01/18/2012

I beg to differ....Bottom line, the more you let gov't in, the quantity, and the level it will go to limit our rights will ultimately follow.
I agree with you in the need for our lawmakers to start answering to we the people. That, however, is a whole seperate issue. That will never happen as gov't control increases.

[greenlord]

12:59 PM on 01/18/2012

Are you saying there are too many govt employees? Does that count the Military?...would we ant to limit that during war time? Or are you counting Laws? or maybe Lines of gibberish in Laws?...How does one quantify Too Much Govt?...I'm with you if you're saying we should limit our laws to a few basic tennants like say the 10 commandments plus the two great...Love God and Love you're neighbor as thyself commandments...but where would traffic laws fall in that equation or Say Protections for the Old Faithful Gyser?...Tooo Much Govt? What is Meant by this Arbitrary Term?

[Forestdaleinc]

11:27 AM on 01/18/2012

From a non-profit to Huffington Post, thank you for the information. We appreciate the awareness you bring to the topic from our point-of-view.

[El Justiciero]

10:56 AM on 01/18/2012

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