'Stop Internet Piracy Act' criticized by Anonymous

Anonymous expressed its discontent for the possible adoption by the US Congress of a bill meant to combat intellectual property theft. Qualified by the hacking group in a recent post as “a blatant act of violation to the constitutional rights of American citizens”, the bill intends to protect movie studios, record labels and artists whose music and films are distributed on-line.

Already characterized as “draconian” by Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, the legislative proposal is “unacceptable” for Anonymous because it “will make it unlawful to post copyrighted data such as tips and walk throughs in games, and sports highlights”, while also allowing “social media sites to remove re-posted videos and data from the Internet”.

It is interesting to note that similar projects and laws aimed at reinforcing cybersecurity and fighting cybercrime, such as the French LOPPSI 2, have stirred reactions and protests alike. For Anonymous, the purpose of the bill initiated by the Republican Chairman Lamar Smith is “a hidden campaign to destroy the ability of people across the world to connect and share their experiences with one another”.

Safe surfing everybody!

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