Do you remember about a year ago there were laws pending in the U.S. Congress that just about anyone who could read could see would destroy our free use of the Internet? There was a massive people’s movement to oppose the laws and we narrowly won that campaign.
They’re at it again. Congress is considering a new version of that defeated legislation. Only this one is far worse than the previous version. If allowed to pass, our free speech and our democracy will have taken a giant step backwards. For example, it is likely that this website that you are visiting right now will no longer exist if this legislation is allowed to become law!
Here are a couple of highlights:
- Any copyright holder with a modest amount of legal clout, (read money and access to lawyers), will be able to get just about any web site they want shut down.
- It will be up to the owner or author of the shut down web site to prove that they have not infringed on the copyright.
- Sounds a lot like “guilty until proven innocent”, doesn’t it? Not much like democracy…
- Attorneys General and some other members of the Department of Justice will be able to claim that any web site is a threat to national security, and have that site shut down.
- They will be able to do this without any significant judicial review.
Doesn’t this sound a lot like the type of anti-democratic behavior that the U.S. State Department routinely and publicly complains about when other countries do it? What does the U.S. State Department have to say about China’s censorship of the Internet? How about what was said about Egypt’s Internet shut-down?
There is a non-profit free speech advocacy group called: Demand Progress, that is also a legislative watchdog group. They played a key role in helping to defeat the previous version of this legislation. They have a site, which explains the details and includes a link to sign a petition to Congress to knock this assault on our freedoms off. I have a link below.
I hope you will take a good look and strongly consider signing the petition. They state in plain English what the legislation will do if allowed to pass. They also make clear who is supporting it. It is the usual gang of corporations who place massive profits above any and all human considerations.
Please check this out: http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/protectip_docs/?akid=621.317030.cb-Mgk&rd=1&t=1
Please – this one is important! If this passes the medical establishment and Big Pharma will quickly have this site and many other health freedom and information sites shut down. We will all lose access to the life-saving information and research collaboration and sharing that our free Internet makes possible.
Thanks for taking the time to consider this. If you agree that this one is important, please share this post as widely as you can. Please urge your friends to get involved. The price of freedom truly is eternal vigilance, and never has this been more true than it is right now!
To your health!
Jeff Bell