Let there be light! Why this Kat will not be blacking out
Few folk who use the internet as a means of gathering news and information will have missed the news that the Wikipedia community has announced its intention to black out the English-language version of Wikipedia for a period of 24 hours in protest against proposed legislation in the United States: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the US House of Representatives and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the US Senate. Objection is taken that, if this legislation is passed, it will seriously damage the free and open internet which we have all come to love, including Wikipedia.
Many people have written to this Kat today to ask, since this is after all a copyright/freedom of expression issue, he will be blacking out in sympathy, as indeed many other websites and weblogs -- some of influence and eminence -- propose to do.
This Kat's position is as follows.
Without prejudice to the issue of whether SOPA/PIPA is the best piece of proposed legislation ever seen or the most vile manifestation of evil yet recorded, it is the product of a legislative process that is itself the product of democratic will and which is the work of democratically elected legislators.
In this Kat's view, the way to engage with proposed legislation is to identify its faults, whether they are inherent in its principle or are merely by-products of its poor execution; to bring those faults to the attention of the legislators -- repeatedly if necessary -- and to challenge them through the lawful mechanisms provided by the system of democratic legislation.
Blacking out, whether for 24 hours or for any other arbitrary period of time, is not an argument. In that respect, while it causes no immediate physical harm to anyone, it is no different to air traffic controllers going on strike because they want more pay or to people who have a grievance against a government's economic policy looting high-street electrical stores. In each of these cases what we have is not an embodiment of reasoning which can be tested out against logic, evidence and principle, but a reflection only upon the strength of feelings and the personal desires and preferences of those who carry out those activities.
If (as it indeed appears to a large number of people better qualified than this Kat to comment on matters of US legislation) the provisions of SOPA/PIPA are undesirable and/or defective in whole or in part, what is needed is education, explanation, persuasion. Those are principles upon which this weblog was founded and upon which it stands today. The net effect of a Wikipedia black-out is that, for a period of 24 hours, a number of people who call on its cooperatively-composed content for knowledge, enlightenment and understanding, will not find it there. The black-out will not hurt the supporters of SOPA/PIPA but just ordinary people whose collective will is the basis upon which democracy functions.
Many readers of this weblog will, in recent weeks, have seen a lot more comment concerning the proposed unitary patent system and unified patent court system for the European Union. In the opinion of many people, including some members of this blogging team, these proposals are more deeply flawed and damaging to users of the patent system than Europe has ever previously experienced.
This blog has sought, through many long and passionate posts, to alert readers to these dangers. Some readers have agreed, while others have vigorously disputed the criticisms or have challenged their bases. The result is that a larger number of people affected, as well as national legislators and EU decision-makers have become more aware and increasingly appreciative of many points which previously they either failed to understand or insufficiently understood. In result of this, it is hoped and believed that the proposals which will be adopted will be less harmful than those originally drafted -- and that those who work within the patent system will be better adjusted to life in a new world which is not of their choice. This Kat believes that it is the educative power of not just blogs but all the social media which is its ultimate weapon, not blacking out and pulling the plug on what influence we have.
Many people have written to this Kat today to ask, since this is after all a copyright/freedom of expression issue, he will be blacking out in sympathy, as indeed many other websites and weblogs -- some of influence and eminence -- propose to do.
This Kat's position is as follows.
Without prejudice to the issue of whether SOPA/PIPA is the best piece of proposed legislation ever seen or the most vile manifestation of evil yet recorded, it is the product of a legislative process that is itself the product of democratic will and which is the work of democratically elected legislators.
In this Kat's view, the way to engage with proposed legislation is to identify its faults, whether they are inherent in its principle or are merely by-products of its poor execution; to bring those faults to the attention of the legislators -- repeatedly if necessary -- and to challenge them through the lawful mechanisms provided by the system of democratic legislation.
Blacking out, whether for 24 hours or for any other arbitrary period of time, is not an argument. In that respect, while it causes no immediate physical harm to anyone, it is no different to air traffic controllers going on strike because they want more pay or to people who have a grievance against a government's economic policy looting high-street electrical stores. In each of these cases what we have is not an embodiment of reasoning which can be tested out against logic, evidence and principle, but a reflection only upon the strength of feelings and the personal desires and preferences of those who carry out those activities.
If (as it indeed appears to a large number of people better qualified than this Kat to comment on matters of US legislation) the provisions of SOPA/PIPA are undesirable and/or defective in whole or in part, what is needed is education, explanation, persuasion. Those are principles upon which this weblog was founded and upon which it stands today. The net effect of a Wikipedia black-out is that, for a period of 24 hours, a number of people who call on its cooperatively-composed content for knowledge, enlightenment and understanding, will not find it there. The black-out will not hurt the supporters of SOPA/PIPA but just ordinary people whose collective will is the basis upon which democracy functions.
Many readers of this weblog will, in recent weeks, have seen a lot more comment concerning the proposed unitary patent system and unified patent court system for the European Union. In the opinion of many people, including some members of this blogging team, these proposals are more deeply flawed and damaging to users of the patent system than Europe has ever previously experienced.
This blog has sought, through many long and passionate posts, to alert readers to these dangers. Some readers have agreed, while others have vigorously disputed the criticisms or have challenged their bases. The result is that a larger number of people affected, as well as national legislators and EU decision-makers have become more aware and increasingly appreciative of many points which previously they either failed to understand or insufficiently understood. In result of this, it is hoped and believed that the proposals which will be adopted will be less harmful than those originally drafted -- and that those who work within the patent system will be better adjusted to life in a new world which is not of their choice. This Kat believes that it is the educative power of not just blogs but all the social media which is its ultimate weapon, not blacking out and pulling the plug on what influence we have.