How the web beat back SOPA and (hopefully) PIPA

How the web beat back SOPA and (hopefully) PIPA

by digby

Mother Jones has the story of what was supposed to be a done deal falling off the rails when the internets put up a fuss. It’s quite inspiring.

I particularly liked this:

Minds changed. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), the chair of the powerful House budget committee announced on January 9 that he would oppose the bill (after taking nearly $300,000 from pro-SOPA donors). Ryan’s aspiring 2012 opponent, Rob Zerban, had raised tens of thousands of dollars through a Reddit campaign denouncing Ryan’s position on the legislation.

I guess 300k doesn’t go as far as it used to. Certainly not for Ryan who has collected gigantic sums of money from just about everyone.

Read the whole thing. This is just one small victory (half a victory actually, since the Senate version PIPA is still on the agenda) and these people won’t stop.

Here’s a video Hollywood will just hate:

It never fails to amaze me how shortsighted media companies are. If the government has the power to censor on your behalf they have the power to censor you.

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