SOPA- Share your thoughts

Many of you will be aware of the recent SOPA and PIPA bills proposed to combat online piracy.
While I`m sure that most people who read this journal would agree that online theft is not in any way a good thing, i hope you will also agree that the best way to deal with any problem is in a manner appropriate to the existing issues.
To put it another way... a spider in the corner of your bedroom may cause you distress, but you don`t seal off your bedroom as a way to prevent the spider continuing to bother you.
SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) are, in my opinion, potential brick walls that will certainly seal that pesky spider away (untill it finds a way around) and in the meantime you lose your bedroom too.
:thumb280194588:
For anyone who does not know what these proposed laws mean, in a nutshell it will give the government the right to censor any sites hosting anything classed as `infringement`.
This has further reaching possibilities than it first appears. This is an excerpt from Nethosting.com "Know your SOPA facts":

"On the surface, the bill is a positive attempt to do exactly what it claims to do – stop online piracy. However, some language in the bill is ambiguous and general, which raises concerns for many about the overreaching power it may grant the government, if the bill is passed. For example, the bill is written in such a way that allows the government to shut down a website if a visitor to a website posts illegal content in a comment. If on a Google Blogger blog someone’s comment includes a video clip that is really from a network television show that they don’t have rights to publish, not only could the blog be shut down, but under SOPA, the government would have the right to shut down Blogger." Full article:- www.nethosting.com/buzz/blog/k…
Does anyone believe this is the best way to handle this situation?

Some of you, i know, have been the victim of online piracy. In the last few months alone I`ve seen many journals from fractal artists and other artists who have found their work on some random wallpaper download site, or even in the gallery of other devs here on dA.
No one wants to have their creative works stolen and sold by people who care nothing for the work you put in, while they pocket the proceeds.

These proposed legislations cannot be the only answer to dealing with this problem!
In the last few days many parties who previously supported the bills have backed away from the issue, The White House has also expressed objections to the legislations.

If SOPA and/or PIPA become law, the image above may become a very familiar sight; assuming the site hosting has not been shut down.

Some links to info on the subject...
www.nethosting.com/buzz/blog/k…
www.ibtimes.com/articles/28447…
slumz.boxden.com/f605/jan-17-s…
This is not just about the ramifications of this bill either, watch this rather frightening youtube clip which raises questions about the motivations of those trying to push this bill through  www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIuYg…

Mal