"It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products," ~ Lamar Smith, Republican Chairman of House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

Well, Google, Facebook, WordPress, Wikipedia and YOU did it!  The controversial anti-piracy bill called SOPA has been defeated via a coordinated effort between playmakers and users on the Internet.

While it is true that illegal file downloads and similar activities are a problem, imposing more regulation on Internet usage is probably not the way to do it.

Just about every major site including Wikipedia and Facebook featured major banners on their site slamming the upcoming vote.  Wikipedia even went dark for 24 hours to illustrate their contempt for the proposed bill.

However, Wikipedia also issued this statement: Thank you for protecting Wikipedia. We're not done yet

And, it went further stating that “SOPA and PIPA are not dead: they are waiting in the shadows. What’s happened in the last 24 hours, though, is extraordinary. The Internet has enabled creativity, knowledge, and innovation to shine, and as Wikipedia went dark, you've directed your energy to protecting it.”

There is thus a major battle underway in the United States between those individuals who favor big government to protect us (both online and offline) with more regulation and those who do not.

This sometimes crosses party lines and it’s becoming an interesting battle. __

Let us know where you stand by writing your comments below!

from http://www.midphase.com/blog/sopa-touchdown-freedom-1-reg...