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

American Censorship Day is tomorrow. It is the day that a bill threatening the future of the internet will be on the floor for discussion in Congress. There isn’t much I can write here that hasn’t already been said or reported. More importantly, how does it relate to our world of craft beer geekery?

Sites that have largely user-generated content like Beer Advocate and RateBeer are probably more at risk than sites like Beernews.org and other blogs. That said, any company that doesn’t like what I do here or doesn’t like what Untappd does or whatever other site could point to an image or some other piece of content that it feels infringes on a copyright and take us out altogether. Currently, copyright holders can just file a DMCA request to a webhost to have content removed. I’ve done it in the past and it has worked just fine so far.

A craft beer site being taken down sounds really far-fetched though, regardless, this bill sets dangerous precedents for how the government can censor the internet and how companies can abuse proposed regulations.

If you have checked out this website even somewhat regularly, I’d ask that you take four minutes out of your day to watch the video above. That’s all I ask. Then decide whether you want to learn more about American Censorship Day and take part.

I know I am.

Cheers,
Adam

Below: infographic courtesy of AmericanCensorship.org.