Like The Internet?

Yeah? Me too, it's pretty swell. Well, if you're in the USA, you may want to pay some close attention to this. I feel as if this bill isn't getting the attention it desperately needs. See, Congress has made this very, very vague bill (that is currently being talked over) about IP/Internet Censorship.

What's that? Well, to make it simple, this bill would make it illegal to: cover a musicians song, download any MP3 without paying (which I don't have a problem with this one), link to any copyrighted material, posting yourself singing a song online, and much more that is talked about here in this thread from a friend of mine in the Coffee Shop.

See, this bill is very gray. They're pretty much nit picking, and not making it clear on what will be illegal, and what we can be deemed a "felon" for doing. They don't say how to avoid doing these things. This bill could very easily ruin many blogs, vlogs, and pretty much every future artist out there. We everyday Internet users know that it's extremely hard for a musician to get noticed, and how almost all of them start out is by covering songs of their favorite bands. We also know that many musicians don't mind their fans covering their songs, and love that they're inspiring people to create their own. We also know that the money gained by someone buying their song off iTunes does not go directly to them, but their record label. The biggest way they make money is merchandise and concerts.

Anyway, slightly sidetracked here, this bill could potentially fuck over major sites such as YouTube and Blogger. If this bill passes, I could get my blog deleted because I love using lyrics and quotes that relate to my posts, and I cite them.

I'm not sure if this bill is only for things you do not cite, or if it's for anything that you don't own and have created. Like I said, the bill is very vague and it's hard to interpret.

So please, fellow Americans, sign the below petition.

PLEASE SIGN THE AMERICAN CENSORSHIP PETITION

*Note: I'm not saying I am in favor of torrenting/free downloading/etc.; I'm not in favor for the rest of this bill, and neither is anyone else, except our lovely government.