This is a very important issue guys. There's a bill thats on its way to passing that will take the free Internet from Americans and flush it down the toilet. It will ban certain websites w/ copyright content and throw certain people in prison for use of copyrighted materials (including people who make amvs, mmvs, and any other fan based video that holds copyrighted content.). Here's why you should be concerned:
If this bill passes, here are some of the things you may want to expect:
- If you're an amv, mmv artist, expect to have your video channel banned at the very least, and prison time at the very worst. Up to 5 years of prison per video.
- If you read copyrighted materials online (manga for instance), expect those to get banned
- If you watch anime/tv shows online that were not posted by the network, expect that to go away too (sidereel.com, crunchyroll.com, etc.)
- You'll have to watch what you post: No longer will you be able to freely post copyrighted images or videos as examples if you're an artist (this will be a big issue even for professional artists who keep a blog).
- fan sites featuring materials based on copyrighted materials may be banned or censored. This includes but is not limited to: deviantart.com and fanfiction.net (both with members ranging in the thousands)
- some remixes of copyrighted music (such as those found on newgrounds) may be thrown into question
- Anything: video, web page, etc. with a copyrighted music track could be at risk for being banned.
- For teachers & professors who use youtube as a teaching resource, some of the content used for lectures, examples, etc. may be banned based on copyright policies.
And yet though the worries that have caused for this bill to be proposed are not unfounded, there are even bigger reasons to oppose it. Namely because everything in our society is a remix of something else.
Everything Is A Remix: THE MATRIX from robgwilson.com on Vimeo.
Also, under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. This new law would conflict with the Copyright Act of 1976, in the way that ALL use of copyrighted content by another party would be prohibited.
Furthermore, it would give the government the confidence to start proposing other bills to take even more freedoms from us. And if you think it isn't possible, look at our current government policies regarding airport search and seizure, detaining of possible terrorist members, and phone and e-mail tap procedures. If the government isn't stopped here, with this bill, there is no telling what they may take next.
Don't let it happen without a fight: StopCensorship.org
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