PDA

View Full Version : Protest Exposes Silicon Valley-HollyWood Rivalry.....



MMC
01-18-2012, 08:32 PM
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a move that heightens the growing tension between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, Wikipedia and other websites went dark Wednesday in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart the online piracy of copyrighted movies and TV programs.
The web-based encyclopedia is part of a loose coalition of dot-coms and large technology companies that fear Congress is prepared to side with Hollywood and enact extreme measures — possibly including the blocking of entire websites— to stop the online sharing and unauthorized use of Hollywood productions.

For now, Silicon Valley appears to have the upper hand. Supporters of the legislation — called the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act in the Senate — say the bills are aimed at protecting jobs in the movie and music industries. But a campaign including tech heavyweights such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. has successfully portrayed the bills as an attack on a free and open Internet.

On the other hand, Obama and other Democrats have gone to Hollywood dozens of times to raise campaign funds over the years.

Indeed, behind the protests and public posturing, both Hollywood and Silicon Valley spend generously to lobby causes in Washington. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the movie, television and music industries spent a combined $91.7 million on lobbying efforts in 2011, compared with the computer and Internet industry's $93 million.
In the 2012 election cycle, the movie, television and music industry offered up $7.7 million in direct campaign contributions to congressional candidates. The computer and Internet industry contributed $6.6 million.....snip~

http://news.yahoo.com/protest-exposes-silicon-valley-hollywood-rivalry-190034443.html
Associated Press – 2 hrs 2 mins ago<<<<< More Here!

Now the 3 Republicans that co-sponsored the bill have pulled their support. Of Course the Demos Leahy said he would push the bill anyways.

MMC
01-18-2012, 10:45 PM
Under the rules SOPA or PIPA would impose, Ohanian and others argue, start ups wouldn't be able to handle the costs that come with defending their sites against possible violations. Such sites would not be able to pay the large teams of lawyers that established sites like Google or Facebook can afford.
The legislation in question targets foreign companies whose primary purpose is to sell stolen or counterfeit goods -- but opponents say domestic companies could still be held liable for linking to their content. While sites like Reddit wouldn't have a legal duty to monitor their sites all the time, "you might have your pants sued off of you" if you don't, said Jayme White, staff director for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on international trade.
Brad Burnham, managing partner at the venture capital fund Union Square Ventures, said his company has avoided investing in companies related to the music industry because of the copyright risks -- but under the proposed legislation, that risk would hit just about any Internet company. SOPA and PIPA, he said, "takes the risk of frivolous litigation... to the entire Internet."
That should be a concern, Burnham said, when the Internet accounts for 21 percent of economic growth among developed nations, according to one study (http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/MGI/Research/Technology_and_Innovation/Internet_matters).
The impacts could go beyond the economy, some argue. Rebecca MacKinnon, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan New America Foundation, argues that if blogging platforms are motivated to monitor their content, that could have "a tremendous chilling effect on people tyring to conduct political discourse and trying to use content in a fair use context."
SOPA, PIPA: What you need to know - Political Hotsheet - CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57360665-503544/sopa-pipa-what-you-need-to-know/)

Conley
01-18-2012, 10:53 PM
I was reading about how Hollywood has turned on Obama as a result of this and they are saying he will not get another dime! I thought of you MMC when I read that, figured it would bring a smile to you. :laugh:

MMC
01-18-2012, 11:00 PM
Problem is they didnt turn on liberalism. Nor other Democrats.

Conley
01-18-2012, 11:03 PM
Problem is they didnt turn on liberalism. Nor other Democrats.

They might when they see how many Dems went against SOPA today. But generally speaking you are correct.