Android apps scans bar codes to identify products made by supporters of the draconian Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
Opponents of controversial govt plans to vastly expand copyright enforcement protections online have a new tool in their arsenal to fight back: Boycott SOPA. The Android app allows users to scan bar codes to determine if a product is either created by or somehow intimately related to a SOPA-supporting company.
SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, was first proposed in the House of Reps on October 26th of last year. The legislation would give DOJ the power to force US based third-parties, including ISPs, payment processors, online advertising network providers, and search engines to either block access to infringing sites or cease doing business with it. SOPA would outlaw unauthorized streaming of copyrighted material with the threat of up to five years in prison for repeat offenders.
The legislation, while risking the very freedom and security of the Internet as we know it, is also is easily circumventable using a variety of methods we’ve discussed here at length in the past.
Boycott SOPA is another tool in the arsenal to show your displeasure with the bill. Its list currently contains over 800 brands and companies, and the developers promise to update it as they go along.
From the developers:
What it is: A free android application that you can use to scan bar codes to help identify if products are either created by or intimately related to SOPA supporting companies. There are currently over 800 brands/companies on our list. The list currently being used by the application is available here.About the developers: We are two college kids that are unimpressed with the current SOPA bill and want to discourage it from getting passed in any way possible.Other: This application will help you identify goods of companies which according to publicly available sources appear to have been supporting SOPA as of approx. January 5th 2011. It is Intended as an aid to identifying such products but should not be relied upon. You should carry out your own check in case of any product this app indicates is a product of a company supporting SOPA is not.
“An open Internet is crucial to American job creation, government operations, and the daily routines of Americans from all walks of life,” said Issa in a press release. “The public deserves a full discussion about the consequences of changing the way Americans access information and communicate on the Internet today.”Yesterday, Darrell Issa (R-CA), a vocal SOPA opponent, announced that on January 18th the House Committee on Oversight and Government will hold an oversight hearing to examine the “…potential impact of Domain Name Service (DNS) and search engine blocking on American cyber-security, jobs and the Internet community.”
Let’s hope it compels Congress to listen to the tech experts and not CEOs in the copyright industry, some of whom have shockingly said they don’t “…see anything good having come from the Internet.” Stay tuned. Source