EnergyFanatics.com Could Soon Be Shut down by the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

If you have been surfing the Internet today (January 18, 2012), you may have come across a few websites that are blacked out. The Internet blackout is a protest from websites throughout the world against an anti-Internet freedom bill known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). This protest is also targeting the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Do not let the names fool you because they are just cover-up names for the government’s hidden agendas. They are similar to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and Patriact Act which have little to do with being patriotic.

Below is an excerpt form wordpress.org about this Internet censorship bill.

WordPress.org is officially joining the protest against Senate Bill 968: the Protect IP Act that is coming before the US Senate next week. As I wrote in my post a week ago, if this bill is passed it will jeopardize internet freedom and shift the power of the independent web into the hands of corporations. We must stop it.

Below is an example of a website protesting against the SOPA and PIPA. The image below is a screenshot of wikipedia.org, one of the largest online free encyclopedias in the world.

The following image is another example of a website protesting against the SOPA and PIPA. It is a screenshot of naturalnews.com, one of the largest natural news website in the world.

The above images could be a reality if the SOPA is signed into law. According to NaturalNews, section 105 of the SOPA allows the US government to shut down websites it claims “endanger public health.” This means that the US government can shut down any health related websites. The SOPA is not only designed to target health related websites. It is designed to restrict freedom of speech on the Internet or stop it completely.

Here is what inforwars.com, one of the largest alternative news in the world, has to say about the SOPA.

The secret behind SOPA, the so-called anti-piracy bill which is today the target of an unprecedented backlash with Wikileaks and other major websites ‘going dark’ to protest the legislation, has nothing to do with piracy or copyright theft – it’s about the formal effort to mimic Communist China’s system of Internet censorship.

But don’t take our word for it, listen to what Joe Lieberman, co-sponsor of PIPA, SOPA’s sister version in the Senate, said about the purpose of behind the US government’s efforts to control the Internet under the guise of cybersecurity.

Lieberman characterized fears that the US government would use such powers to censor political content as “total misinformation,” yet goes on to admit that the purpose behind the agenda is to mimic China’s ability to “disconnect parts of its Internet in case of war,” adding, “we need that here too”.

The SOPA, PIPA, NDAA and Patriot Act are nothing more than bills designed to destroy our freedom and liberty. In other words, they are like declarations of war against the American people. The American people are waking up and the government is scared. Instead of acting like responsible adults and negotiating with the American people, our government decided to pass these laws to protect itself from the American people who are sick and tired of being taking advantage of.

It is crucial that we the people take peaceful actions now and prevent President Obama from signing the SOPA. Even if Obama says he opposes the SOPA, he will most likely sign it into law. Remember what he said about the NDAA? He told the American people that he would veto the NDAA but instead quietly signed it on New Year’s Eve.

Join the resistance to stop the SOPA from becoming a law. Take action now to voice your opposition to SOPA and stand up for Internet freedom.

To email your representative, please click this link for more information on how to do this.

To contact your US Senator, please click this link for more information.

Let your representatives and senator know how you feel about the SOPA. Below are some topics that you may want to include in your email or phone call.

• You oppose internet censorship and the SOPA.
• You will not support or vote for any candidate that supports the SOPA.
• Urge them to vote against the SOPA.

Update (January 19, 2012):

We the people of the world have made it clear to our politicians that we do not want anymore restrictions on the Internet. According to The New York Times Bits Blog, by the afternoon of the day of the Internet blackout protest, over 4.5 million people have signed Google’s petition. Some members of Congress have suggested that they will no longer support legislation that is aimed at censoring the Internet. There are better ways to fight piracy but the way the SOPA and PIPA are written could allow authorities to abuse this power. For example, if someone post a comment on a website with a link to another website that sells illegal products, the website with the comment could be shut down by the SOPA.

Congress is planning to vote on this Internet censorship bill on January 24, 2012. Please contact your representatives and urge them to vote against this bill.

Update (January 20, 2012):

It looks like we have temporary won this battle for freedom. Congress has decided to postpone voting on the Internet censorship bill. However, the people who wrote this legislation will most likely try to bring it up again. We will need to keep a close eye on the bill and make sure it is not going to be used to destroy the freedom of knowledge and speech on the Internet.

Update (January 22, 2012):

The shut down of MegaUpload, a popular website that has hundreds of thousands of subscribers, is concrete proof that our government already have the power to shut down any website it wants. Imagine if the SOPA and PIPA become laws. Our government could have the authority to shut down any website that it does not like, even if the website contains no illegal media. I’m not a person who support piracy but to shut down a website without going through a normal court process is a threat to our freedom and liberty. That is exactly what certain authorities in our government did to MegaUpload. It is an example of guilty until proven innocent which is the opposite of innocent until proven guilty. You can read more about the shut down of MegaUpload at this website.

Protect IP/SOPA Breaks the Internet

Reddit Co-Founder Discusses SOPA at New York Protest

Anti-SOPA Rally in San Francisco

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