FOREWARD:
We are strongly against censorship of any kind, particularly censorship that is anti-information and anti-technology. SOPA/PIPA are not your run-of-the-mill PMRC obscenity witch hunts, they are (with no exaggeration) two bills designed to give censorship control to large corporations that have built enormous fortunes on the backs of artists, musicians, journalists and other creatives. These corporations are now beginning to lose their iron grip on “intellectual property” and are struggling to adapt their archaic business models to be sustainable in the modern age.
We strongly oppose the SOPA/PIPA bills and those who would support them. Internet censorship is going to a vote in the Senate on January 24th. While Senators are in their home states for the January recess, we need to flood their public meetings and offices with our concerns about the bill. We have done a little “stealing” of our own and borrowed the information below from the craigslist.com SOPA article. Please take the time to arm yourself with information — and be prepared to defend the Internet, which has arguably become one of the most influential and powerful tools ever invented!
How to Stop HR 3261 (SOPA) and S 968 (PIPA) Internet Blacklist Bills
Congress needs to hear from you, or these dangerous bills will pass – they have tremendous lobbying dollars behind them, from large corporations reportedly hoping to prop up outdated, anti-consumer business models at the expense of the very fabric of the Internet — recklessly unleashing a tsunami of take-down notices and litigation, and a Pandora’s jar of “chilling effects” and other unintended (or perhaps intended?) consequences.
Please let your Members of Congress know you OPPOSE H.R. 3621 “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA) and S. 968 “Protect IP Act” (PIPA):
- Phone, yes phone your Member of Congress! (House) (Senate)
- EFF Congressional Emailer – Oppose Internet Blacklisting (SOPA & PIPA)
- OpenCongress Congressional Emailer – Oppose SOPA
- Generic Congressional Emailer (You’ll need your Zip+4)
Learn more about SOPA, Protect IP (PIPA), and Internet Blacklisting:
- Growing Chorus of Opposition to SOPA
- Open Letter against SOPA from 83 Prominent Internet Engineers
- Why SOPA and Protect IP (PIPA) are Bad, Bad Ideas (Techdirt)
- SOPA News (Google News)
- SOPA Wikipedia entry
- SOPA FAQ (CNET)
Internet Giants Consider Blackout Against SOPA!
Where does your Member of Congress stand on SOPA? (Project SOPA Opera)
Opponents of SOPA: Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, eBay, AOL, Mozilla, Reddit, Tumblr, Etsy, Zynga, EFF, ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Ron Paul (R-TX)
Supporters of SOPA: RIAA, MPAA, News Corporation, VISA, Mastercard, Pfizer, Comcast, Time Warner, ABC, Nike, Walmart, Dow Chemical, Tiffany, Chanel, Rolex, Monster Cable, Teamsters, Lamar Smith (R-TX), John Conyers (D-MI)
THE BLACKOUT
In solidarity with many other opponents of SOPA/PIPA, we will observe a 12-hour blackout of all Nophi web and social network activity on January 18, 2012 from 8am to 8pm Eastern Time. Our regular site URL (www.nophi.net) will be replaced by the following message “Nophi has gone dark from January 18, 2012 at 8:00 am until January 18, 2012 at 8:00 pm to protest SOPA/PIPA and Internet Censorship.” Additionally we will not post any updates to Twitter or Facebook during the 12 hour blackout. Our store at http://www.phitunes.com will remain open and we will still answer your emails or direct messages.
Additionally, we are suggesting a boycott of all products and services provided by supporters of SOPA/PIPA and their sponsors. Here is an extensive list of companies that are in support of internet censorship: http://bit.ly/uVPNcR
Thank you,
Your friends at Nophi
