Beauty Break Time: Beauty Bloggers Against SOPA

The issue is not beauty related in itself, but as it will affect the beauty blogging community as well as the entire Internet, I thought I'd shed some light on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). SOPA is a broad US bill that proposes to expand the ability of US law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. Because ICAAN serves under the Department of Commerce, this bill will have a global effect. It is, as I see it, the beginning of global Internet censorship. I'm not well versed on political bills, but you can get the gist about SOPA on Wikipedia or see the proposed bill on The Library of Congress website.

Let me just say that I believe in copyright laws. I hate to have my property stolen as much as the next person. I have had mass chunks my images and writings copied. I understand some of the frustration and can only imagine the pain of piracy affecting my wallet as it does some companies. Despite that, I can't support SOPA. I believe that SOPA is a direct attack on bloggers and small media outlets. SOPA and PIPA are supported mainly by big companies and large media corporation. Once passed, the likes of ABC and NBC will have full power over their copyrighted materials, but our copyrights, as they've always been, will be overlooked. SOPA isn't just a mean of controlling piracy, it's a mean of controlling the Internet and its users, something I'm sure some governments have been looking into doing for quite some time. If passed, it could change the entire structure of the Internet forever. And whose to say it'll stop there? I can foresee a government-controlled Internet playing nice with big businesses to cripple the little guys.

I'm not asking for any action from the community; just acknowledgement. The controversy of this act has been quietly shunned by most media outlets outside of the Internet. And why not? The Internet is a major competitor of television and print media. Loss of our rights is no loss to them.

Wikipedia and Reddit are blacking out their websites on Wednesday, January 18th in protest of SOPA. The blackout is controversial in itself, but I won't get into that now. I'm just curious to know, what is your stance on SOPA? Or the blackout? Or maybe you're not concerned at all. Share your thoughts below!

Video explaining PIPA/SOPA:

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Other SOPA Coverages:
Pros and Cons of SOPA
Obama Says So Long SOPA
Wikipedia’s SOPA Blackout is a Terrible Idea

Some Cosmetics Companies that Support SOPA:
Estée Lauder Companies
L’Oreal
Revlon
To these companies, I say fine. If you don't like bloggers, don't like the Internet and don't like our freedom, then it's your choice to make. I'll be rallying against these companies from hereon and will not mention their products in my future posts.

Last Beauty Break Time, Emily Q won a $10 gift certificate to Sigma Beauty.

Beauty Break Time is series of weekly debate topics and questions to get the audience to participate in discussions. Every week, one random participant is selected to win a beauty prize. To make sure you receive your prize, leave a form of contact with your discussion response. Forms of contact can include email, website, Twitter, Facebook, etc. A new winner is announced on new postings.

13 comments:

  1. SUCKS!! Not only will be controlled at work, but also at home now - never being able to do or read what we want anymore.

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  2. I understand that measures have to be taken against piracy, but SOPA seems like a slippery slope. It feels a little like they're taking the internet back a generation where there was simply less information -- only now, there's more information that is soon to be restricted. This could be the first step in all sorts of censorship/book-burning so I'm glad Wikipedia and Reddit are taking such strong stances against it. Imagine if Google and Facebook did too.

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  3. Thanks for drawing attention to this bill. I also believe it is flawed, and not the best way to go about protecting intellectual property. Once a government gets involved in something, it never becomes LESS involved down the road!

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  4. I just hope with all the protests it'll stop this bill in it's tracks!!!

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  5. I am so glad that you are protesting those makeup companies supporting SOPA! I am not an online publisher, but I read blogs on a daily basis. I hate this proposed bill that threatens our Internet freedom! It's a direct attack on Youtube and social media and will probably shut down tons of websites with most bloggers in fear of getting in trouble for no reason...

    I am also going to stop buying products from those makeup companies in protest! lol I know, little good it will do, but at least I am doing my part!

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  6. G.,
    I'm still not quite sure what the end result will be, but SOPA and PIPA are vague enough that they can be interpreted in many ways, depending on who is in charge. Scary!

    The Procrastinator,
    Yes, both slippery and sloppy! It is definitely many steps back!

    MJ,
    I really don't want the government controlling out Internet in this way. They'll never give power back to the little people.

    Athena,
    You would think that - but there are many government officials who support SOPA and many more normal people who still don't know about SOPA!

    Heather,
    Thank you for bringing up such great points. Although I am normally a huge Revlon fan, I am also going off their products until they change their position. There are so many good companies out there, we'll find better ones. :)

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  7. I agree with you. This is definitely going to changed blogs!
    I'm surprised that Revlon is one of the companies supporting it..

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  8. I'm completely against SOPA. Controlling what you can put on the internet and what you can see is almost like taking away your freedom of expression. If we give in to SOPA, I doubt the government will stop there. I can't believe those companies are supporting SOPA...bloggers are a great asset to the beauty community. I would hate to see this get passed...
    & Also...
    THANK YOU for the gift certificate! :DD Can't wait to use it! Does it have a expiration date?

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  9. It doesn't have an expiration date. :) You can also add it to your Sigma account and save it there until you want to use it. That way, you won't be afraid of losing the gift codes either.

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  10. I really don't understand this sopa but it is a bit freaking me out.

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  11. I'm against SOPA! I think it would also make a big difference and impact if facebook, twitter, youtube, etc also closed down the same time as wikipedia.
    I think for makeup, it's great to protest by not buying their products!

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  12. I'm completely against SOPA/PIPA/ACTA-and whatever they come up with next to deal with online piracy most likely. However, the blackout itself that occurred I can't stand behind. Yes, SOPA and such acts are bloody awful but are they more important than every single other issue right now, in the recent past and foreseeable future? If wikipedia, a 'neutral' source of information, now doesn't blackout its page when another issue sprouts up, say recent abortion debates, it's automatically declaring that it's not quite as important.

    I'm rather surprised that Revlon, Estee Lauder & L'Oreal are supporting SOPA- unless I'm missing something, I'm seeing no upside for them.

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  13. Really old comment, but I have to respond. The reason wikipedia was blacking out their website is because this law directly impacts the legality and well being of wikipedia. If this law passes or something similar to it passes, wikipedia as we know it can cease to exist. Information borrowed from other websites or even links to websites that contain anything deemed illegal can put wikipedia at risk for lawsuits. The website would be to be heavily monitored and controlled differently.


    This isn't exactly wikipedia taking a stand on an issue. It is defending itself from potential shutdown and lawsuits! Sharing knowledge, information and the internet is the core of wikipedia. They are trying to take away the core! It isn't like taking a stance on abortion or anything. It is defending itself by shutting down one day to ensure it doesn't shut down forever.

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