Damn the Man, Save the Empire!

Your all probably too young to remember the slacker comedy Empire Records (from where this title comes from). Getting old . . . Anyway, I wanted to bring a serious issue to your attention. So much so that Google has a NO CENSORSHIP banner on today's page. We had a lengthy conversation about censorship at our student meeting last quarter. It's important for you to keep up to date on censorship that is happening in our own government, right now.

SOPA - Stop Online Piracy Act - The originally proposed bill would allow the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as copyright holders, to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement. Depending on who makes the request, the court order could include barring online advertising networks and payment facilitators from doing business with the allegedly infringing website, barring search engines from linking to such sites, and requiring Internet service providers to block access to such sites.

In layman's terms - All of your favorite web sites may be shut down and subject to an expensive, extensive legal process if anyone find's it's content in violation of copyright. Your ISP may ban certain websites from your search without your consent. Reports claim that the legislation is so loosely worded that members of government may use this to censor any site they please across the internet.

Understand that opinion is skewed, depending on where you get the source. However it's important for you, as a future filmmaker, to pay attention and take action either way. This WILL effect how you make films and distribute them in the future. -
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57360665-503544/sopa-pipa-what-you-need-to-know/
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/opinions/why-its-important-to-reject-sopa-the-mpaa-and-piracy.php#comments
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2399008,00.asp
A counter opinion -
http://www.mpaa.org/blog
http://www.mpaa.org/contentprotection
http://graphicpolicy.com/2011/12/23/marvel-and-disney-on-the-pro-sopa-bandwagon/
Here is the actual legislation -
http://judiciary.house.gov/issues/issues_RogueWebsites.html

Thoughts? Does this legislation help you as an artist by protecting your copyrights? Does this bill give power to corporations by shutting down anything that resembles copyright infringement? Is this legislation about taking power or protecting it? Educate and decide for yourself.