Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Internet Censorship Bill Would Spell Disaster for Speech and Innovation

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, August 4, 2017

Internet Censorship Bill Would Spell Disaster for Speech and Innovation

Click here to access article, "a call to action" by Elliot Harmon posted on Electronic Frontier Foundation.

There’s a new bill in Congress that would threaten your right to free expression online. If that weren’t enough, it could also put small Internet businesses in danger of catastrophic litigation.

Don’t let its name fool you: the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA, S. 1693) wouldn’t help punish sex traffickers. ....

Make no mistake: sex trafficking is a real, horrible problem. This bill is not the way to address it. Lawmakers should think twice before passing a disastrous law and endangering free expression and innovation.

Our masters in the ruling capitalist class know the dangers that the internet provides to their their rule and their global imperial agendas. Thus they are using every device to deceive Americans into supporting legislation that can weaken mostly small alternative websites who expose their self-serving agendas of profit and power. It appears that this legislation is such a Trojan Horse. If we can't defend the internet, then all is lost.