The internet is the most powerful tool for true democracy humankind has ever possessed. It allows people to communicate, collaborate, mobilise, express themselves, publish their own work and undermine “the construct” in myriad unforeseen ways. The Internet has changed our planet and how we perceive it and it has changed what we believe is possible. International borders and social boundaries are rendered permeable. Information is now free. The floodgates are wide open! Would the Arab Spring Revolutions have happened so quickly (if at all) without social networks? Would the global Occupy Movement ever have got off the ground without Twitter and Livestream?
Corporations and governments see this as a threat to their system, as capitalism teeters in the balance, such “digital anarchy” can no longer be tolerated. Their fightback begins as the worst bill in internet history is about to become law.
PROTECT IP (S. 968)/SOPA (HR. 3261) creates the first system for Internet censorship – this bill has sweeping provisions that give the government and corporations leeway and legal cover for taking down sites “by accident,” mistakenly, or for NOT doing “enough” to protect the interests of Hollywood. These bills that are moving very quickly through Congress and can pass before Christmas aim to give the US government and corporations the ability to block sites over infringing links posted by their users and give ISPs the release to take any means to block peoples’ sites, including slowing down your connection. That’s right, some say this bill is a workaround to net neutrality and is bigger than net neutrality.
We need to fight to keep the internet free from top-down control. Fight for our right to freedom of speech. Fight for YouTube and WordPress and for WikiLeaks. Fight for Red Eye! 😉
If you wish to express your dismay at these draconian plans, the US congress is currently debating this bill… let them know we aint happy. Sign the Avaaz petition below
“As concerned global citizens, we call on on you to stand for a free and open Internet and vote both against the Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act. The Internet is a crucial tool for people around the world to exchange ideas and work collectively to build the world we all want. We urge you to show true global leadership and do all you can to protect this basic pillar of our democracies worldwide.”
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The Red Eye Portal 
More on Protect IP: http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/
Incredible — 800,000 signers in days, Congress is hesitating, and one Senator will block the vote by reading out our petition for hours!! Let’s get to 1 million – forward this email to everyone —
Right now, the US Congress is debating a law that would give them the power to censor the world’s Internet — creating a blacklist that could target YouTube, WikiLeaks and even Avaaz! Free speech champions in Congress say our outcry will help, and one Senator is even going to block the vote by reading out our petition names for hours! Click here to build an unprecedented global petition for a free and open Internet:
Dear Friends,
Right now, Congress is debating a law that would give them the power to censor the world’s Internet — creating a blacklist that could target YouTube, WikiLeaks and even groups like Avaaz!
Under the new law, the US could force Internet providers to block any website on suspicion of violating copyright or trademark legislation, or even failing to sufficiently police their users’ activities. And, because so much of the Internet’s hosts and hardware are located in the US, their blacklist would clamp down on the free web for all of us.
The vote could happen at any time now, but we can help stop this — champions in Congress want to preserve free speech and tell us that a global outcry would strengthen their hand, and one of them — Senator Wyden — says he will “filibuster” or block any vote on the bill by reading out our petition names until the clock runs out! Let’s urgently raise our voices from every corner of the world to build an unprecedented global petition. Click below to sign and then forward to everyone:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet/?vl
For years, the US has condemned countries like China and Iran for their clampdown on Internet use. But now, the impact of these new censorship laws could be far worse — effectively blocking sites to every Internet user across the globe.
Last year, a similar Internet censorship bill was killed before reaching the US Senate floor, but it’s now back in a different form. Copyright laws already exist and are enforced by courts. But this new law goes much further — granting the US government and big corporations enormous powers to force service providers and search engines to block websites based just on allegations of violations — without a trial or being found guilty of any crime!
Free speech advocates have already raised the alarm, and some key senators are trying to gather enough support to stop this dangerous bill. We have no time to lose. Let’s stand with them to ensure that American lawmakers preserve the right to a free and open Internet as an essential way for people around the world to exchange ideas, share communication and work collectively to build the world we want. Sign below to stop censorship, and save the Internet as we know it:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet/?vl
In the past months, from the Arab Spring to the global Occupy Movement, we’ve seen first hand how the Internet can galvanize, unify and change society. Now, if we stand together, we can stop this new attack on Internet freedom. We’ve done it before — in Brazil and Italy, Avaaz members have won major victories in the fight for a free Internet. Let’s galvanize our global web community to crush the most powerful censorship threat that the Internet has ever seen.
With hope,
Luis, Dalia, Diego, Emma, Ricken, Aaron, Antonia, Benjamin and the rest of the Avaaz team
Money and Hip Hop all day.