Clay Shirky says SOPA and PIPA are Bad

Millions have been vocal online lately about two pieces of legislation in Congress in the United States. One is SOPA - the Stop Online Piracy Act and the other is PIPA - the Protect Intellectal Property Act

Mainstream media have been trying to figure out a way to stop us from sharing (and in some people’s minds, stealing) content for years. This has taken the Napster issue to a level no one ever imagined. If you create content, I think you should be compensated. But it's not as simple as to label us thieves with a sweeping piece of legislation.

Mega sites like Wikipedia and Google created online petitions against SOPA and PIPA and millions signed them. At the moment, the U.S. Congress has chosen to put these decisions on hold. But this is clearly not the end. And it won't remain on American soil so this affects everyone, even those of us who live elsewhere.

Clay Shirky discusses SOPA and PIPA in this TED Talk



Kneale Mann

visual credit: TED | Clay Shirky