Most Tea Party people in Congress are relatively new, but they are ready to take a stand against what they and tech giants see as a heavy hand on the Internet even if they have to join with the Dot Commies from the West Coast (as I've heard them called many times). To us, of course, they're Google, Facebook, and Yahoo (as another article reported this morning), etc.
The US Chamber of Commerce is siding with its big money donors pushing for Congress to pass legislation forcing search engines to block sites promoting piracy and counterfeit products, and forcing ISPs to block the sites.
Not only are large bucks at stake, but the Internet companies and Tea Party types say the freedom of the Internet could easily be lost.
I agree. The slope has been slippery since the ban on Internet gambling, but we don't need to ice it. Who's next? People who piss-off corporations with their blog posts? Any Tweet with #ows or #teaparty?
By the end of the report it's seeming like a deal may be reached. I'm hoping that's just journalistic guessing.
Some dangerous sites may need to be identified and blocked, like overseas or underground pharmacies especially those who sell bad products.
But the nation can afford to hunt those out like they are foundations hunt down new viruses and Internet threats.
Anyway, if a person can't identify a phony Gucci purse, they shouldn't be shopping on the Internet, or in half the stores in town. I don't see government forcing road builders to police every shop in the discount district.
Oh wait. Let's not give them any ideas.
See original report on which I'm commenting at:
