SOPA, CISPA and Other Cyber Laws: The Impact on Business

Rules that strengthen security and protect intellectual property may sound good for business at first, but some critics are concerned proposed laws like the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), Protect IP Act (PIPA), Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISPA), and Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) may pose threats to Internet job creators and innovators. Some of these proposed rules like SOPA and PIPA have been taken off the table for now ? but threaten to rear their ugly heads in various forms.

An Overview

The pros and cons of SOPA and PIPA. Though both laws have been taken off the table in Washington (for now), chances are that similar intellectual property and security regulations for the Internet will continue to be floated. Here are the facts behind these proposed laws and a look at the arguments for and against their implementation. Would your company do well or poorly in a SOPA world? PC World

Do CISPA, SOPA, and PIPA supporters understand the Internet? It?s a question posed by blogger Mike Masnick when examining people like Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, who claims the Internet was developed by strict copyright enforcement. Many opponents of SOPA and PIPA respect intellectual property but have other concerns about the slippery slopes the regulations may represent. TechDirt

CISPA Rising

CISPA emerges following SOPA and PIPA. Is the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2012 an honest attempt to improve security in the online world, or just the latest in an attempt to attack online privacy and liberty? Jim Harper, Director of Information Policy Studies at the Cato Institute has some definite opinions. Cato@Liberty

Microsoft and Facebook support CISPA, but should you? The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act could let government agencies gain access to customer data from Internet service providers and websites if that data represents a threat to cyber-security. But how exactly is this threat defined, and what could the new Internet regulation mean to privacy and freedom? Lifehacker

Security and Freedom

SOPA and PIPA foreshadow battle over Internet control. Who should control the Internet? The battles over SOPA and PIPA, which raised many concerns about intellectual property versus freedom of expression, may have only been the first volley. In December, 193 nations gather in Dubai for renegotiation of the United Nations treaty on International Telecommunications Regulations. What will the impact be on you and your business? Vanity Fair

Do SOPA, PIPA, and CISPA undermine your rights? Internet threats are quite real, says?US policy advisor and computer scientist, David Gewirtz, but are not neutralized by legislation that curbs online liberties. Some of those security regulations?he mentions SOPA, PIPA and CISPA specifically?are misguided efforts that, in reality, protect special interests while they erode our liberty. ZDNet

Concerns Abound

Internet Defense League started. So many anti-piracy regulations have been proposed (which critics argue are also anti-freedom) that an organization backed by tech companies like WordPress, Reddit, Cheezburger, and others has been organized to raise awareness of the issues and to organize opposition to those the group believes pose a threat to online freedom. All Things Digital

What age group cares most about Internet freedom? It may not be surprising that concerns over Internet freedom are highest amongst the 18 to 29 demographic. This articles reports on statistics compiled by the Pew Research Center at the height of the controversy over online privacy legislation earlier this year. To what degree do you think creators of online content and online businesses were also concerned? The Atlantic

ACTA: A whole new threat? According to one California congressman, the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, an international agreement that nations, including the US, are considering, could be a huge threat to ?job creators, Internet service providers, innovators, and individual Americans.? VentureBeat

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