Categories: Business

Infographic: What is the Stop Online Piracy Act, and why should I care?

The Stop Online Piracy Act, which is before committee in the US House of Representatives is proving to be a hugely controversial piece of proposed legislation and one that has split the technology industry.

Large parts of the technology entertainment industry, including household names such as Dell, McAfee, Microsoft, and Sony, believe it is needed to protect copyright on the works they produces while many in the web industry, including some of the most popular sites online, such as eBay, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Yahoo!, say it will allow for government-sanctioned editing of the web.

So controversial is the law that Facebook, Google, Yahoo!, Mozilla, LinkedIn, Twitter, eBay, AOL, and Zynga jointly wrote to the House Committee on the Judiciary in November to voice their concerns about the bill.

But if you are still wondering what SOPA is about then have a look at this infographic by BusinessInsurance.org (@biz_ins) which shows just what the US Government and copyright holders could do to websites accused of infringing copyright, and how it could affect web users in America and around the world.

Click to enlarge the image

Ajit Jain

Ajit Jain is marketing and sales head at Octal Info Solution, a leading iPhone app development company and offering platform to hire Android app developers for your own app development project. He is available to connect on Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

View Comments

  • SOPA can direct ISP’s to filter their DNS, can they then censor foreign DNS servers if they allow access to sites which contain illegally posted copyrighted material? How will SOPA effect ope-nsource burgeoning P2P dns projects? Will VPN providers be subjected to SOPA DNS filtering? I don’t see how this bill ‘cannot’ cripple the web as we know it.
    sciatic nerve pain

  • SOPA can direct ISP’s to filter their DNS, can they then censor foreign DNS servers if they allow access to sites which contain illegally posted copyrighted material? How will SOPA effect ope-nsource burgeoning P2P dns projects? Will VPN providers be subjected to SOPA DNS filtering? I don’t see how this bill ‘cannot’ cripple the web as we know it.
    http://www.sciaticnervepainblog.com/

Recent Posts

When good coding principles go wrong

I have come across my share of beautifully written, over-engineered code... one moment I am…

1 hour ago

Inside the web of deception in the age of AI

This week, I’ve seen a lot of over-dramatization of very simple factual events that seem…

1 hour ago

Digital ID ‘plays a foundational role for participation in digital economies’: B20 Task Force

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is not an organic movement; it doesn't come from the will…

4 hours ago

Byte-sized solutions: How tech is transforming life with food allergies 

Nine-year-old Addie Lao from California lives with severe allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame seeds,…

2 days ago

Credibl appoints sustainability leader Viral Thakker as Chief Business Officer to help more businesses achieve regulatory ESG compliance 

Sustainable investment in the US has faced political backlash in 2025 after the current administration's…

2 days ago

CATALYST Launches Real-Time Satellite Intelligence Service for National Defense Agencies

For many decades, satellite images have played an important role in the arena of national…

5 days ago