We closed SOPA Now we look to OPEN!
We spoke briefly about SOPA in an earlier post. We didn’t go into much detail as there was already a multitude of information sources already available on the InterWebThingy.
Since then SOPA has retreated, due to the efforts in part by the Internet Community and much thanks must go to Mike Masnick of TechDirt. It is because of him, according to a Forbes Online Publication that the larger Internet Giants like Google and Wikipedia took to arms.
But now that SOPA is all but gone, we still need to address the issues that brought it about in the first place. Those responsible for bringing SOPA to us will not rest until they get some satisfaction, and rightly so. Piracy is a big problem, it costs industries many millions each year, some would say that the best way to stop piracy would be for the industries in question to lower their prices. We do see some merit in this, yet there will always be those who will take it for nothing, and in truth, these people will never be stopped SOPA or otherwise.
On the same day the Wikipedia, Google and many others blacked out across the Internet, a Californian Republican Representative, Darrell Issa, introduced the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN) to the house.
Given that the Internet Giants jumped on board the Nope2SOPA band waggon, but have not in fact offered up a viable alternative, this offering by Issa, is the best and quite possibly the only alternative to SOPA and PIPA. The comparison chart below pretty much sums it all up. We have also included a link to the bill hosted on KeepTheWebOpen.com a site that was set up by Darrell Issa.
In short, the OPEN Act tries to live up to its name but can it be improved upon?
Image source http://keepthewebopen.com/sopa-vs-open
We like Issa, we like his attitude, not to gone on his suits though. We believe that with more political figures like Issa and his attitude to Open productivity in the Internet, we’ll do okay.
Download the OPEN Bill from KeepTheWebOpen.com
Let us know what your thoughts on the bill are, and if you have any better ideas. We’ll even read the weird ones. 
@TheHyperHippie Team
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