Stop Online Piracy Act facts for kids
The Stop Online Piracy Act, often called SOPA, was a proposed law in the United States. Its main goal was to stop copyright infringement on the Internet. Copyright infringement means using someone else's creative work, like music, movies, or books, without their permission.
This proposed law caused a lot of discussion among people who use the Internet. In the end, the bill was not passed. Many experts believed that if SOPA had become a law, it would have changed the Internet in big ways all around the world. Some critics also worried about unexpected problems or bad results that might have come from the law.
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What Was the SOPA Law About?
SOPA was designed to give the U.S. government and copyright holders new ways to fight against websites that shared copyrighted material illegally. These websites are often called "piracy" sites. The law would have allowed the government to ask Internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to these sites. It also would have allowed payment companies to stop processing payments to them.
Why People Protested SOPA
Some people and businesses supported SOPA. They were worried that the current laws weren't strong enough to stop online piracy. They felt that creators and companies were losing money because their work was being shared illegally.
However, many others were very worried about the law. They believed it could lead to a type of censorship on the Internet. Censorship means controlling or stopping what people can see or say. Opponents worried that the law was too broad and could accidentally block legal websites or make it harder for people to share information freely. It was hard to know for sure what would happen because the exact wording of the law was still being worked on.
Major Online Protests
To show their disagreement, many websites joined protests against SOPA. On January 18, 2012, the English Wikipedia put a large banner over most of its pages. This meant that visitors couldn't easily read the articles. About 763 out of 100,000 Wikipedia editors voted for this action. They wanted to show how important it is for information on the Internet to be open and free for everyone.
Other popular websites also protested. For example, Google placed a black censor bar over its famous logo on its homepage to show its opposition to the bill. These protests made many people think about the value of an open Internet.
Related Information
- Protect IP Act: This was another similar bill proposed around the same time as SOPA.
Images for kids
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Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced the SOPA bill.
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The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) home page with an American Censorship Day banner.
