SOPA and PIPAare making its rounds all over the internet.
So what is SOPA and PIPA? Simple put, it’s an anti-piracy bill working through the US congress that gives its creators the power to censor the internet.
I won’t go into details on the bills. You can check the references below.
However, let me share my views on how it will affect Filipinos:
1. Filipino Bloggers whose sites rely heavily on Google Ads/Affiliate market may get shot down.
There are a lot of Filipinos making money online through Google Ads/Affiliate marketing. These sites may get censored if copyrighted materials are used such as product images, product descriptions, logos, etc.
If your site’s primary audience is based in US and your site gets censored, expect your profits to go down.
2. We won’t have any more future “Charice Pempenco’s” and “Maria Aragon’s”
Charice Pempenco and Maria Aragon became popular because of YouTube. They recorded themselves singing their favorite songs will all their heart. Because of that, they got discovered and now famous.
When SOPA and PIPA are in place, recording companies can ask YouTube to remove videos that contain their songs. Now, even a 10-year old girl singing Lady Gaga songs can be flagged for copyright infringement. So you won’t see any more videos like the one below:
3. No more pirated stuff (or just probably less conspicuous)
Let’s be honest, there are a lot of places where you can get pirated DVDs, software and music in the Philippines. Will SOPA and PIPA totally wipe out piracy? I don’t think so. It might lessen it, but people will find other ways to get what they want.
To know more about SOPA, you can check out these references:
Google’s Petition against SOPA.
WSJ: What Is SOPA Anyway? A Guide to Understanding the Online Piracy Bill
Gizmodo: What Is SOPA?
Disclaimer: These are my own personal views. You may or may not disagree on these. Feel free to leave comments or to start a friendly discussion.
