Letter to the Editor

Law would infringe on Freedoms

Sunday, January 22, 2012

To the Editor:

I'm not sure if this city or county is aware, but the U.S. Congress is trying to pass two new laws: SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act).

These two laws, if voted into effect, would take away our right of Freedom of Speech and possibly the Internet as a whole.

The SOPA law, as currently written, dictates that government has the right to suspend any and all Internet sites that link to any forms of deemed piracy.

In my opinion, if these laws are passed, we could lose the Internet as a whole.

Google, Yahoo, MSN and even possibly The Brazil Times' website could all be shut down if they post a link the government dictates leads to a pirate website.

I am a member of the Indiana Army National Guard and I did not sign my life away to fight for freedoms that can so easily be signed away by an act of Congress.

I suggest everyone who has access to a computer research these laws for yourself and see what you could be losing if these laws get passed.

Beth Kassiotis,

Brazil