SOPA: So, Everyone's a Criminal?

I remember the SOPA fiasco of 2011.  I remember freaking out and posting facebook statuses about the audacity of their censorship.  To be completely honest, I had read the outlines of the bill, I know the pros and cons, but I hadn't read it word for word.  I get the idea behind it.  I get that the bill is trying to protect copyright and prevent infringement on property such as music, television, etc... That part I can understand where they are coming from as they are trying to protect one's intellectual property and their rights.  However, after reading further about SOPA it is clear that the wording of the bill is so vague that it has the capacity to make us all criminals on the internet.

The SOPA Act basically states:  
              "Authorizes the Attorney General (AG) to seek a court order against a U.S.-directed          
               foreign Internet site committing or facilitating online piracy to require the owner, operator,
               or domain name registrant, or the site or domain name itself if such persons are unable to
               be found, to cease and desist further activities constituting specified intellectual property
               offenses under the federal criminal code including criminal copyright infringement,
                unauthorized fixation and trafficking of sound recordings or videos of live musical
               performances, the recording of exhibited motion pictures, or trafficking in counterfeit
               labels, goods, or services."(SOPA Act Summary).
Basically, this portion of the act explains that the Attorney General has the power to determine who is in violation of committing infringement and online piracy which would then be followed by a punishment consisting of cease and desist, "preventative measures including withholding services from an infringing site or preventing users located in the United States from accessing the infringing site."  Basically, instead of the situation like Napster where people were individually picked and charged for their infringement, this act would create almost a police state in which the Attorney General can choose who they want and when they want to accuse of piracy or infringement which can then shut the entire site down and lead to legal ramifications for not only the site but for the individuals.

After reading an article entitled, "Why SOPA is Dangerous" the ramifications of this bill were even clearer.  This article Why SOPA is Dangerous explains and picks out the main wording of the bill that causes the most danger to all of us on the internet.  The article explains that major sites such as Yahoo, Google, Wikipedia, Social Media sites like Facebook, and especially Youtube can receive major legal ramifications and even be shut down.  The article points out some wording from actual bill in the following:"An 'Internet site is dedicated to the theft of US property' if [a portion of the sit is US directed] and is used by users within the United States and is primarily designed or operated for the purpose of offering services in a manner that enables or facilitates [copyright violation or circumvention of copyright protection measures" (Why SOPA is Dangerous). 
At first glance this doesn't seem terrible but when you apply it to your everyday life and the sties we use, this can actually be very dangerous and turn us all into criminals.  For instance, any major site like Facebook, yahoo, Youtube, and millions of other sites can be under attack JUST because they have one feature that can allow users to copyright.  Fr instance,the article gives the example of Youtube.  If you are an average person, let's say a kid singing a song in a talent show by a major artist, and your parent tapes that performance on their iphone and then uploads it to Youtube and that video receives about 2500 hits, the bill can then calculate what they think you owe financially for technically uploading a song you had no permission to upload (even though it is just from a talent show) under this bill, the Attorney General doesn't have to care; if he thinks its infringement you and the site can suffer from it.  The bill states:

…Total retail value may be shown by evidence of the total retail price that persons receiving the reproductions, distributions, or public performances constituting the offense would have paid to receive such reproductions, distributions, or public performances lawfully.

The article then goes on to explain that, "This means, for example, if you upload a video to YouTube of you singing a popular song, and that song might sell for $1, and your video gets 2,500 views, you are guilty of felony copyright infringement. Furthermore, you can tack on “willful infringement for commercial gain or valued at more than $1,000.”(Why SOPA is Dangerous).

In Professor Herman's article he goes over the history of copyright and the fact that before SOPA, there was not much outcry about copyright infringement.  However, after such an uproar over this bill by major companies like Google or Wikipedia who participated in the protest blackout, other internet users followed in the protest.  If we see that major companies are worried and angered over a bill like this, of course it is going to make the average internet user worried as well; hence the major outcry by almost every internet user known to man. 

I understand SOPA is trying to protect copyright and one's intellectual property but this particular bill is far too vague and would create a police state on the internet making it almost impossible to make any move on the internet without having to worry about being sued or having a site shut down.