SOPA and Online Piracy
Q&A Webcast Episode: 15 January 2012, Question 1
In this segment of the Q&A Webcast of 15 January 2012, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered a question on sopa and online piracy.
Should SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) be supported or opposed? SOPA was recently introduced to the US House of Representatives, then shelved temporarily, and many people are urging businesses and their representatives to oppose it. Would the bill promote prosperity and creativity by protecting copyright? Or does it justify internet censorship and cripple free access of information through online media?
My Answer, In Brief: SOPA and PIPA claim to protect copyright, but in fact, they'd break the fundamental architecture of the internet, subject innocent people to major legal battles, destroy large internet sites, and establish government control over the internet. To top it off, these laws would not stop pirates. They should be opposed.
Tags: Ethics, Free Speech, Internet, Law, Politics, Technology
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- Duration: 22:16
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Relevant Links
- Wikipedia: Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act
- CopyBlogger: The Problem with SOPA (And How to Stop It)
- United Liberty: 8 Political Reasons to Stop SOPA and PIPA and 8 Technological Reasons to Stop SOPA and PIPA by Ron Davis
- Fight for the Future: PROTECT IP / SOPA Act Breaks the Internet
- CNet: Molly Wood's Video Explanation of SOPA
- Slate: The Internet's Intolerable Acts by James Losey and Sascha Meinrath
- SOPA and PIPA are Bipartisan Bad Policy, Really Bad Policy by Tom Evslin
- Refusing REFUSED by Paul Vixie
- Politico: SOPA becoming election liability for backers
- CNet: GoDaddy bows to boycott, now 'opposes' SOPA copyright bill
- The Hill: Twitter, Facebook, Google endorse alternate online piracy bill
- Ars Technica: Under voter pressure, members of Congress backpedal (hard) on SOPA
- The Atlantic: SOPA's Architect Is Finally Starting to Back Down
- The Hill: SOPA shelved until 'consensus' is found
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Every Sunday morning, philosopher Dr. Diana Hsieh answers four meaty questions applying rational principles to the challenges of real life in her live hour-long internet radio show, Philosophy in Action Advice Radio. Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers co-hosts the show. The audience can ask follow-up questions and make comments in the text-based chat.
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Dr. Diana Hsieh is a philosopher specializing in practical ethics. She received her Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. Her dissertation argued that Thomas Nagel's "problem of moral luck" can be resolved by an Aristotelian theory of moral responsibility. She began podcasting in 2009, then webcasting in 2010.
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