Massive blackout of internet sites on Jan 18 influences lawmakers

The media stories have Hollywood corporate fat cats reeling from Wednesday’s shutdown or blackout of more than 12,000 websites like Wikipedia, Reddit and Wired. NJN Network did its small part by wearing black all day.

“U.S. lawmakers appear to be abandoning their support for controversial copyright legislation after one of the biggest online protests in history.”reports the Globe and Mail.

“Hollywood Loses SOPA Story In Piracy Debate, Even Chief Lobbyist Dodd Is Muzzled” says the Wall Street Journal.

Wikipedia’s blackout in the English speaking world was the most dramatic and important part of the protest. Some estimates say 5 million people checked Wikipedia just to see the blackout message.

Wikipedia, a free internet site, is used by students and people who want to know the facts. Reporters would not be able to write their stories without researching Wiki first. And it’s free, part of the Open world on the internet.

“The entertainment industry moved to counter growing opposition to antipiracy bills that seemed certain to be laws just weeks ago. But its efforts appeared to have little effect as a number of congressional leaders dropped their support for the legislation.

Several Republican senators, including Orrin Hatch of Utah, John Cornyn of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, said Wednesday they couldn’t support the legislation in its current form.

Sen. Hatch said the bill wasn’t “ready for prime time.” Both sides of the debate expect the legislation to be renegotiated in the weeks ahead.”

If SOPA passes, I could get 5 years in jail for posting that quote from the Wall Street Journal. The quote is legal according to the Copyright Acts in the United States and Canada under fair use and fair play provisions but SOPA would supersede those rights to reporting.

You could go to jail for posting your cover song of Lady Gaga or your child singing a song they heard on TV.

We would all become instantly creative or just shut up if the draconian SOPA / PIPA laws get passed.

The impact of yesterday’s protest was to get all us lazy and happy internet users mobilized to protest the strange SOPA bill that only benefits the Hollywood movie industry and record labels.

Personally I thing people should get paid for their creative works. Call me old fashioned. I’ve got a house full of LPs, CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs and now Blu-Rays that I paid for. But that’s the old way.

People under 30 are not used to paying for movies and music. People don’t own content as much as they use it. They are used to buying a can opener but as soon as they can be made on a 3D printer that will change I guess.

One way to compensate the artists and companies who create content is with micro-payments. Each movie, book, song or picture gets a digital code that the creator/owner registers. When we watch those items, the micro-payment registers and the ISP collects the fee.

We pay for computers, smartphones and tablets. We pay for the right to connect to the internet. It might be time to pay people who build the content.

Wikipedia says micropayments for amounts less than $1 are impractical. That may have been true ten years ago but the ubiquity of digital connections tells me it’s only because they haven’t put the best minds to find a solution.

Smartphones have changed everything. Who could imagine a software industry bases on 99 cent app purchases? Apple, Google and their developers are making billions of dollars in revenues at that price. That’s today’s world and tomorrow will be even more digitized at smaller cost.

The SOPA PIPA legislation is a poor solution that impacts hundreds of millions of people to benefit a few thousand. We can find a better solution that benefits everyone.

In the meantime the political battle is not over. For more information check out Fight for the Future.