Across the web today, many sites are blacking out in protest against two dangerous pieces of legislation , SOPA and PIPA. These bills, if passed as law, would give companies the ability to shut down Pocketnow (and any other site, for that matter) without due process of the law should they discover something that might violate copyright. Currently, should a company take issue with something that we post (like a picture of an unreleased phone), they can send a cease and desist letter. We can then comply with the cease and desist, or we can utilize our legal counsel to defend us. With SOPA and PIPA, said companies can essentially go to a judge, provide some evidence of copyright infringement, and have the judge proceed to require our DNS to take Pocketnow offline. Imagine an internet where the only thing standing between your favorite site being offline or online is a judge, who, without the full picture, makes a determination. It’s dangerous to say the least, and we don’t support it.

What can you do to stop SOPA and PIPA? Fortunately, our voices are being heard, and it already looks as if voting on SOPA (but not PIPA) will be delayed as the bill is retooled. But that’s not enough. We need to bring to light the consequences of a censored interenet. It will change everything. A page on the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s website shows you who to contact.