Restriction of Freedom and SOPA: A Wake Up Call
Jan 26th, 2012 by Mehrad Karimzadegan
A vast array of compelling points were brought up by Gillian Ong in her blog regarding the effects of SOPA/PIPA on the online community. In her outline she discussed how piracy and the download/usage of free content led to the passing of the SOPA/PIPA bill threatening to terminate online websites providing a gateway to such pirated resources. As a fighting response, many websites offering free informational and entertainment resources went on a one-day strike -including Wikipedia and Reddit- to show the general public how a lack of their services can have a significant impact on the everyday lives of the citizens in a developed society.
A halt of a dependent source of information like Wikipedia even for one day can show how much we as a collective group can take certain availabilities for granted. We sometimes forget how fortunate we are to be blessed with modern technological breakthroughs that have made our lives easier in so many ways. Therefore when an event such as this occurs, it opens the eyes of the world even for a moment to remind us the value in such products and services.
