Wikipedia and hundreds, if not thousands, of other notable online brands
have entered into an all-day shut-down-- a black-out-- in the name of
advocacy for consumer rights.
The shutdown
-- which started at midnight Tuesday ET -- is protesting two bills aimed
at cracking down on online piracy, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
introduced in the House of Representatives, and the Senate version, the
Protect IP Act (PIPA).
Supporters of stronger intellectual property enforcement — such as those behind the proposed new Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) bills
in Congress — argue that online piracy is a huge problem, one which
costs the U.S. economy between $200 and $250 billion per year, and is
responsible for the loss of 750,000 American jobs.
These numbers seem truly
dire: a $250 billion per year loss would be almost $800 for every man,
woman, and child in America. And 750,000 jobs – that’s twice the number
of those employed in the entire motion picture industry in 2010.
The good news is that the numbers are wrong — as this post by the Cato Institute’s Julian Sanchez explains. In 2010, the Government Accountability Office released a report
noting that these figures “cannot be substantiated or traced back to an
underlying data source or methodology,” which is polite
government-speak for “these figures were made up out of thin air.” (From
the website Freakanomics)
READ HERE How SOPA will impact you as an artist selling things commercially online if the act is enacted.
In solidarity, the LiberatedMuse.com member network will be shutting down today as well, resuming normal operations on Thursday, Jan. 19.
This bill, if
passed, will make it dramatically difficult for independent artists to
use the internet in their best interest to garner fans, sell their music
and the like.
If you have any questions, please contact us at LiberatedMuseProductions@
In solidarity,
Khadijah "Moon" Ali-Coleman
Liberated Muse
Founder
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