Freedom Isn't Free

As darkness descends upon the internet, one fact shines still brightly among the gloom: freedom is no longer free. Freedom is a dangerous and unaffordable commodity which must be wrestled into submission at any cost, especially if you've got the muscles to do it.

I write this at what I consider to be a possible turning point in modern history; much has been written about the USA's SOPA/PIPA situation as well as the rough UK equivalent, the Digital Economy Act (I wrote about this a couple of years ago - see here), as we enter yet another chapter of the fight against piracy and copyright infringement - or, as I like to put it, Rupert Murdoch faceless corporations vs. the people. It takes some thinking to imagine a world without the internet as it is at the moment, to conjure an image of state-approved websites and lawsuits for the unapproved; the internet, brought to life by so, so many, controlled by so very few.

Certain things have changed already, that much is true - the face of P2P sharing has been given a few ugly scars thanks to the misuse of Napster, Kazaa, Usenet and BitTorrent (to name but a few), and even websites like YouTube are infinitely more judicious about the use or misuse of copyrighted material than they used to be. Threatening to censor websites in their entirety, however, is more than a step too far. Copyright holders - specifically distributors and the like - need to realise that it is they who should change, not the users. If a consumer sees value in something, they'll buy it; Netflix's streaming service is a fantastic example of the way media consumption has evolved and is still evolving. If I can watch a movie in HD via my Xbox, paying a small monthly fee, why the hell would I want to download it instead?

There will always be pirates on the internet - and you can rest assured they'll usually be three steps ahead of the authorities - but the vast majority of users consume media responsibly, and are willing to pay for it; the very fact that the film, music and video games industries, for example, are worth billions proves this fact. But SOPA/PIPA are about more than just the pirates; this is all about controlling the freedom of the internet in favour of the corporations who are regularly tarred and feathered by the masses. It's about controlling information at the source, throttling the truth and the views of those who make it what it is. It's about censorship, plain and simple, and it's this I cannot stand.

The internet gives power to the people; it was us that made it what it is today, in all its random, wonderful craziness. It belongs to us, and so it damn well should. Not being a US citizen, I can't ring my Senator and explain this to them, but if you're lucky enough to be in the US you can: icanhazcheeseburger.com has a full list of their telephone numbers, so get on the phone to support the internet if you can.

I leave you with this marvellous video from the aforementioned esteemed purveyors of LOLcats: