PIPA co-sponsor Delaware Senator Chris Coons issued a statement on the failure and the future of the PROTECT IP Act. We take a look at some of the remarks made, and offer some thoughts on follow up questions.
"Piracy affects tens of thousands of local jobs in Delaware, where leaders of businesses large and small have made it clear to me that foreign criminals pirating their products, designs and ideas are a serious threat to their ability to grow and create jobs."
While we agree that internet piracy is a crime, and should be treated as a crime. We would be interested to see how "Piracy affects tens of thousands of local jobs in Delaware." Delaware's leading industries are chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and financial services. These industries were not mentioned in the internet debates on online piracy.
"That pirated goods are being sold or distributed online instead of from the back of a van doesn’t make the theft any less costly or any less deserving of the law’s attention."
We agree with the concept of the crime. We have questions on the logic of catching the criminals. Using the analogy of the pirate's goods being sold out of the back of a van, we would ask, would you alter the highway system to stop the pirate's van? Would you set up road blocks that did not allow the average citizen access to neighborhoods where the crimes took place?
"I worked with my friend, Chairman Leahy, last year to strengthen the bill by narrowing its focus to the ‘worst of the worst’ offenders — foreign-hosted websites dedicated primarily to serving pirated content — and I will continue to support his efforts to address some of the concerns raised this month."
“We cannot pretend that online piracy isn't an issue, nor can we pretend that the Internet can be a lawless domain. Tech companies cannot blindly profit from the theft of American intellectual property, just as content providers cannot pretend that their products exist in a vacuum."
The technology community looks forward to putting political comments into proper perspective. No legitimate technology company would argue with the point that foreign based pirate websites need to be shutdown. But help the technology community to understand remarks like, "Tech companies cannot blindly profit from the theft of American intellectual property,"
"It is my hope that those who refused to participate in the process of crafting these bills finally come to the table to be part of the solution instead of marshaling anger at those trying in good faith to do important work.”
Help the technology community to understand who refused to participate in the process. There are alternatives to PIPA. Other solutions were offered, such as the OPEN Act proposed by Representative Darrell Issa but were not debated.
The internet is our collective mind, it is our collective soul. It is a reflection of all of us, and together we have the responsibility to focus and form that reflection. The internet is just a mirror, a reflection. If you don't like what you see, what do you do? Some people break the mirror, others change what's being reflected.
Yes, online piracy is a crime, and it should be punished. But we should not break the internet, and punish the law abiding users of the internet in order to stop the pirates.
To stay informed or to share your Technology News, follow Tom Peracchio @Gu42 on Twitter or Guru42 on Facebook.
If you missed any of the recent news on the issues of controlling online piracy, please check out this link to a comprehensive list of internet legislation articles.
Comments