infoJustice

I have previously shared the American Assembly’s survey on copyright infringement and enforcement, but since it is relevant to the SOPA/PIPA debate, I would like to point to some of its findings once more.  While much has been written about how tech companies and engineers oppose these bills, the survey shows that everyday Americans oppose the censorship and monitoring that the bills would require.

The survey asked American internet users for their views on web blocking, posing the question in different ways.  Among some of the numbers:

• 64% answered “no” to “Should the government censor access to sites that provide access to pirated songs and videos?”
• 57% answered “no” to “Would you support blocking of sites, links, and files if some legal content were also blocked?”
• While a majority of respondents said that user-content-driven sites should “try to screen user activity and try to remove pirated files,” 69% answered “no” to “Should your internet use be monitored in order to prevent copyright infringement?”

As currently written the bills appear to include monitoring and blocking requirements of the sort opposed by a majority of Americans surveyed. (A “no duty to monitor” paragraph applies to payment processors and ad networks, but not to search engines or others.) For more see

• Sean Flynn. “SOPA Revisions Leave Many Concerns In Place.” January 18, 2012.
• Google SOPA Page
• Craigslist SOPA page
• Reddit FAQ