#SOPA & #PIPA – what great ideas! Well, wait a minute… are they?
Let’s see, I’m Google and I’m told that all US Companies
will be responsible if any of their users download copyrighted content through
their site. Okay, time to become a non-US Company. And that's only one dog-eared corner of the issue.
Big business already complains about the tax rate for
American companies. Many have made sure they are protected from that by having
their corporate offices moved out of the country. So let’s create legislation
that makes it even more desirable to be a foreign company. Congress can not pass such laws and then claim
to be working to create jobs for Americans. This is a major job creator for
other countries – or more accurately – it will be as time progresses.
Having a healthy history with the music industry I am
absolutely against piracy. I believe that we should get only what we deserve
for the work we do. Artists, writers and musicians (and their like) should receive the
compensation they have earned through hard work. It is their creativity, their
brain that came up with the piece and to not pay them for that is absolutely
stealing (which is already illegal anywhere).
Yet it is harder and harder to punish international firms
for allowing such theft. So our government is settling by punishing our own
firms who abide by laws that are already stricter than their international
counterparts? It seems like we’ve created our own royal whipping boy.
It is difficult to have faith in Congress right now. But on
this, I’m going to try. Every elected official is already over-extended on the
country’s good will credit. If they do not listen to the outcry on this
particular set of laws under review, they can kiss their collective arses
goodbye. For this reason I hold out hope that these acts will be stalled or mellowed
to placate those with issues; call me an optimist I guess (just don’t tell my
kids that). But how to proceed?
Let’s face it; the only entity who has the power to prevent
criminal behavior is the person considering the criminal act. Making it hard
for a criminal to be a criminal will only make for smarter and more devious
criminals. Mentality must be changed. Users must stop doing the wrong thing
because it IS a wrong thing, not because they are forced to. If we are a
society for free choice we can not limit the choices available.
But to offer a criticism without a suggested resolution is
just mean. And of course, I have an idea… but it scares me so much I’m afraid to
even post it in a public format. A hint though? Well truly the ones being
abused here are the artists/creators right? So what are THEY willing to do
about it? Are they ready to stop hiding behind the governments and take their
own action (or more accurately “inaction”)?
By the way, I create here for my own uses. This place is my
brain dump. If someone takes an idea from my blog and uses it I don’t expect
payment other than a thanks and maybe a mention. But my day job is another
story. I don’t type a word, I don’t send a tweet or create a campaign without
being paid for it. That stuff doesn’t just fall out of my head – I really have
to work at it. So I expect more in return. Do all artists make that
distinction?
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