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SOPA & PIPA: A Guide To Internet Censorship

Connecticut Public Radio | By Colin McEnroe
Published January 19, 2012 at 2:45 PM EST
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http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Commodore%20Skahill/Colin%20McEnroe%20Show%20011912.mp3

It's hard to keep an even keel about the debate over the two Internet anti-piracy laws known as SOPA and PIPA.

Yesterday's spectacle, if it revealed nothing else, showed what a flimsy connection there is between a congressmen "co-sponsoring" a bill and that same congressmen knowing what's in the bill.

After yesterday's show of force,  a number of congressmen withdrew their support for their co-sponsorship because ... wait for it ... they didn't agree with the content of the bills.

A lot of the confusion had to do, as usual, with money. Congressmen get a lot more money from the supporters of SOPA than they do from the opponents. But it leads me to wonder what we were really seeing yesterday. Who's aggregating the new power? We just saw Google and Facebook crush Viacom and the MPAA. But was that like watching the natural gas industry crush Big Oil? Are the new titans any different?

Leave your comments below, e-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us @wnprcolin.
Colin McEnroe
Colin McEnroe is a radio host, newspaper columnist, magazine writer, author, playwright, lecturer, moderator, college instructor and occasional singer. Colin can be reached at colin@ctpublic.org.
See stories by Colin McEnroe

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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