The battle for the right to keep the internet free heats up in congress next week. With all the acronyms, PIPA, SOPA, and OPEN, it can be confusing.
In our previous installment we sorted through the politics of the proposed legislation. In this follow up article we attempt to explain the technology issues in simple terms.
When the casual technology user hears about the DNS filtering provisions of the Protect IP Act they tune out as they get lost quickly in the geek speak. So let us use an analogy to illustrate the concept that hopefully is a bit easier to understand.
Understanding the logic of The Protect IP Act
In our world the GPS device has become an essential tool for use in traveling. Even if you do not own a GPS device, you probably have seen a friend or family member use one. You enter in a physical destination in the GPS device, and it tells you how to get to your destination from your current position.
In the world of the internet with the concept of DNS (Domain Name System) you type in the name of an internet destination, and the DNS system tells your computer how to get there from your current position. The Protect IP Act would use the Domain Name System to block access to a website.
Let us consider the pirate website similar to a traditional brick and mortal business that was doing something illegal.
What could the government do if there was a business conducting illegal activities in an area that was physically impossible for the government to control? The government could make it illegal to travel to the area, or at the very least, make it as difficult to travel to the area in an attempt to keep people away from the illegal activity.
How would you feel if the government made it illegal for GPS devices to give you directions to an area it deemed illegal?
If you can visualize what we are describing here in terms of the physical world, you can image how it might work with internet traffic How would you feel if the government forced websites to not give you information or directions to an area that was considered to be a rogue area?
Internet Powered Down in Egypt
World events in early 2011 brought to our attention how powerful internet communications can be, and how governments can use their power and influence to silence the internet. On January 27, 2011, the Internet was literally powered down in Egypt, and was offline for nearly a week, as the Egyptian government took control of the internet.
In the first half of 2011 several bills were introduced under the general topic of Cybersecurity. The actions in Egypt raised the technical and legal questions of the concept of the Internet Kill Switch in the United States. The concept of the Internet Kill Switch is like the ultimate panic button, something the government could activate in times of crisis and emergency, that could kill the access to the internet for the entire United States.
Most technology experts think it would be very difficult to implement an an Internet Kill Switch in the physical sense, and see it more as a legal issue than a technology issue. The concept of the Internet Kill Switch and the proposed Cybersecurity legislation fell out of the news, and out of the minds of the legislators.
Don't Break the Internet
Much like the topic of the Internet Kill Switch, anything that attempts to defeat the openness of the internet goes against the original concept of how the internet was created. When people use the battle cry "don't break the internet" they are saying don't mess with the technology itself to regulate it.
A group of 83 prominent Internet inventors and engineers sent an open letter to members of the United States Congress, stating how SOPA and PIPA would essentially be "breaking the internet."
Going back to the analogy of the GPS and getting directions, think about how it would work if the government tried to restrict your travel to bad neighborhoods. Wouldn't it make more sense to clean up the bad neighborhoods, or to do what we can to get rid of the undesirable destinations rather than block our ability to find them?
In the politics of the past, trade embargoes and travel restrictions were difficult to enforce, and seldom as effective as promised in influencing the actions of the folks being punished.
Hearings resume on the legislation next week.
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If you missed any of the recent news on the issues of controlling online piracy, please check out the links below or click on this link to a comprehensive list of internet legislation articles.
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