Controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) now before House Judiciary Committee

Numerous web companies, including Google and Facebook, are reacting harshly to the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261), a.k.a. SOPA.  Introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith (TX-21)  on October 26, the bill contains the most controversial parts of the Senate’s PROTECT IP Act (S. 968), but radically expands the scope of what constitutes a “‘rogue website”, or site that engages in criminal copyright activities as defined under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, P. L. 105-304 [H.R. 2281]. 

H.R. 3261 would essentially force U.S. Internet service providers to block access to rogue sites.  There would be a ban list that ISPs would have to enforce, modifying their DNS records to prevent  foreign sites from resolving to that domain name’s Internet Protocol address.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Smith said the legislation is designed to “stop the flow of revenue to rogue websites… that profit from selling pirated goods without any legal consequences”.  Unsurprisingly, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are among the strongest supporters of the legislation.

In this morning’s testimony before Congress, the MPPA claimed that SOPA would allow the U.S. Department of Justice “more effective tools to protect American intellectual property, including the films, television shows and sound recordings created by our members”.  You can follow the hearings via Twitter using #sopa or watch the webcast via the Committee’s website.

Critics of H.R. 3261 predict that any user-generated content site or cloud-based service (i.e. virtually any participant in “Web 2.0″) could find itself targeted by the bill.   Opponents likewise argue that the new legislation represents a severe threat to online innovation and legitimate communications tools, effectively stifling free speech and impeding job creation.

Additonal objections have been raised by digital rights proponents, IP/copyright advocates, and public watchdog  groups.  Furthermore, in order to increase public opposition to H.R. 3261, open government organizations such as EFF, Public Knowledge, and the Sunlight Foundation are hosting grass roots events such as American Censorship Day: November 16th to coincide with today’s hearing.  Free Speech.net has started an online petition while the Center for Democracy & Technology has posted a resource list of the growing opposition to SOPA. 

Whether or not H.R. 3261 will pass remains to be seen; witnesses have another five days to present testimony.  More information about the bill can be found on the House Judiciary Committee website under Issues >> Rogue Websites .

Florida Supreme Court Joins Twitter

On the main page of the Florida Supreme Court's website, you will now notice a tiny turquoise icon indicating that the Florida Supreme Court is using Twitter as a communication platform.  The first tweet was released on April 5, 2010, with subsequent tweets offering links to briefs, opinions, filings, and court news.  You can subscribe to an RSS feed of the tweets or follow the Florida Supreme Court on twitter via @flcourts.

Hat tip to The Florida Bar News.

Library of Congress collects ‘tweets’

The entire archive of Twitter will be part of the LOC collection. Notice.

- By: Robert Hudson

ProfHacker: Tips and Tutorials for Higher Ed

ProfHacker.com is a new online resource, edited by Jason B. Jones of Central Connecticut State University, and George H. Williams of the University of South Carolina Upstate. As their masthead explains, "Monday through Friday, ProfHacker delivers tips, tutorials, and commentary on pedagogy, productivity, and technology in higher education". The tutorials, called ProfHacker 101, offer introductions to online tools such as Google Docs and Bee Docs Timeline, as well as instructions to help you create a blog or a wiki. The site's RSS feed allows you to keep up with the latest posts. Thanks to Maura Smale of ACRLog for the heads-up!

Own Your Own Information

Everybody has a Facebook page these days.   Even the Law Library and Technology Center has a Facebook page.  Facebook claims more than 250 million “active users.”  There are lots of networking benefits attached to a Facebook page, but there is a downside, too.  Do you really want your mother, or your future employer, to be able to see everything you and some of your more, shall we say, exuberant, friends get up to?  Michael Zimmer has an excellent post, How to Adjust Your Facebook Privacy Settings, that will help you regain control of your own personal information.   

- By: Deborah McGovern

Future Web 2.0: Google Wave

A wave will be a hybrid email, wiki, and IM all in one. The video and description of this latest Google effort is here.

- By: Robert Hudson

LexTweet

Check out LexTweet , a Twitter feed which allows you to follow members of the legal community who use Twitter to discuss the law.  The Tweeters there post a variety of interesting links, whatever catches their interest in their legal field.   When I visited, one, from the ABA Journal, was about the median starting pay for law firm associates; another, from  Law.Com, was about the RIAA victory in the Tenenbaum copyright infringement trial.  There was also a link to a story in Equal Justice Works  about a University of Miami student who clerked at the HIV & AIDS Legal Services Alliance in Los Angeles, California over the summer.  The rising 2L was named a Summer Corps Standout award winner by Equal Justice Works.  And a link to TaxGirl’s blog warned that the IRS is aggressively pursuing those (including a tax preparer in Florida who falsified a client’s tax form) who fraudulently claim they are entitled to the first-time home buyer’s tax credit.   

Following this Twitter stream, and contributing when they have something to add, seems like an excellent way for students touse the social networking tool to immerse themselves in the legal culture before they graduate - kind of like hanging outin a virtual law firm.  

- By: Deborah McGovern

Peek-a-Boo! Facebook, and 950,000 Others, See You

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, which has a strong mandate to protect the privacy of Canadian citizens under Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, has  determined that Facebook impermissibly discloses personal information to third-party developers of applications on Facebook.  You know what we’re talking about – Birthday Alert, Scramble, Cities I’ve visited, Are YOU Interested? – to mention some of the more personal.  Users of these apps might be interested in knowing that there are in excess of 950,000 application developers operating in 180 countries worldwide.  

The Commissioner’s determination was based on the finding that not only do application users implicitly consent to giving their own personal information to the app’s developers when they add the app, but also make their “friends’” personal information available to those developers.  The only way that friends can opt out is by refusing all apps or blocking particular apps on an individual basis.  The Commissioner recommends that Facebook prohibit disclosure of the personal information of users who are not adding the app themselves, and that users of the apps be required to specifically opt in to disclosure. 

As the Commissioner’s report succinctly states:  “Facebook has not agreed to the recommendations.”  A question to ponder – How much personal privacy are you willing to give up in order to discover what kind of butterfly you are?

Hat tip to Info/Law.

- By: Deborah McGovern

IORG – Beginning to Deal With Information Overload

Is information overload a part of your daily work and home life?  Then you'll be glad to know that someone's doing something about it!  Several someones, as a matter of fact, have banded together to form the Information Overload Research Group (IORG).  Check their latest blog post for a description of their mission and activities. 

USGovernment Channel on YouTube

Click refresh for a video on new media for the Federal Government.

- By: Robert Hudson