On January 18, 2012, visitors to any blog in the Tico Blogger network would find the contents partially blocked. This is because this association of Costa Rican bloggers is making a symbolic stand in favor of Free Speech. This they hope will demonstrate their solidarity with Wikipedia taking a stand against two U.S. bills: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect-IP Act (PIPA).
They state that they are a united community of people who think differently, but firmly believe in the right of free speech for each of their members. They indicate that they believe in an internet where intellectual property is respected. However they feel these bills go way too far and defend the rights of some while trampling the rights of many.
One Freelance writer and consultant working on Latin American politics, security, economics and technology issues is quite concerned about the how these bills, if enacted could affect Latin America.
He states:
“How does it impact the hemisphere? If legislation like this were to pass, it would hold back economic innovation in the US and Latin America, shut down small businesses in the technology sector, impact our free trade agreements with Central America, Panama, Colombia, Peru and Chile, strengthen organized criminal groups that already traffic in stolen intellectual property, and limit cultural exchanges between the US and the rest of the hemisphere.”
He goes on to say:
“If the US passes legislation like this, it will be utilized by oppressive governments to go after democracy activists who use the internet to organize and communicate. The US will also lose significant moral high ground on censorship as the enforcement of this law would create a firewall limiting US internet users' access to numerous foreign websites, in some ways similar to how the Chinese government or the Cuban government block sites outside of their countries. The SOPA/PIPA legislation would set a bad international precedent for a region still struggling to figure out how to have smart regulations and security measures online.”
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