Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act

by **Mr. Dr. Professor Patrick** 4/19/2011, 8:42 pm

Background information: The COICA is a bill that allows the government to suspend and lock any domain that's deemed to infringe copyright laws, which are, but not limited to, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act. Concerns are raised that if the government suspends domains in America, that website will also be blocked throughout the entire world, thus censoring the entire planet. Others have said that the bill will allow websites like The Pirate Bay to be shut down within America, preventing copyright infringement. The first attempt of this bill had failed to pass, but a reattempt has occurred in the government just this past week.

In my opinion, the bill is not only a violation of our natural rights, it enables the government to control culture. The otaku community would had never developed in America to where it is now if fans had never gotten curious and subbed Japanese episodes to give illegally to others; YouTube would had never became a success if copyrighted music was not allowed on their servers; Napster would had never developed if it weren't for its illegal file sharing. Culture has developed from these illegal acts, and as a whole, it's allowed American citizens to not only expand its doors, it's allowed Americans to explore new things in ways that were never possible. By censoring the internet, this not only blocks the way for exploration, it prohibits culture from coming to America -- the very contradiction of what this country is based on.

What are your thoughts about the COICA?