S.978

Do you enjoy Karaoke? Do you enjoy watching other people sing Karaoke via YouTube videos? Do you enjoy those people going to jail on a felony for some stupid law? Ya me either and yet our Government is trying to do just that with the S.978 bill being looked at right now. What this idea proposes is that the use of any copyrighted material would lead to jail time and fines without question. I have quite a few problems with this whole ordeal but lets take a look at just a couple shall we?

Number one: Fair Use Act!
         As it just so happens, there is this thing called the Fair Use Act. What it states is that one can use copyrighted material for non-profit use and a couple other things based on a few factors like how much of the material is used compared to the media as a whole. This would be the equivalent of fan made Music Videos, Covers of songs, and critic reviews. The new law would completely cancel this out and make it impossible for people to use anything even if it is for creative non-profit reasons. The Fair Use Act was created to spur imagination and this S.978 would only kill our creativity as a nation.

Number two: Free Speech?
        Have you ever heard of a small thing known as Freedom of Speech? I mean sure it is the foundation of our government and society in America and is what we as Americans hold most precious to us but you never know, after all, its not that important. I mean its pretty easy to get rid of to, especially when a stepping stone is in place. S.978 is that stepping stone. If this law goes into effect and keeps people from expressing themselves through the media they create, such as music videos, song covers, and more, then all we are doing is allowing Free Speech to slowly slip away from under our feet. What it comes down to is the Government is censoring what we can and can not create.

Alright so don't get me wrong, copyright is important to protect the ideas of those who first created something but there comes a point where it does more harm than good. I want to protect people from Torrenting and such but I refuse to give up my personal freedom, my voice, so that celebrities can just keep getting richer while everyone else suffers. I will not allow my Government to control what I create, if I want to do a cover of a song and post it to YouTube or sing along to my favorite tune in video form, I will do it and it is not up to a Government or Corporation to tell me otherwise. Should creative individuals be hurt by those out there just illegally copying and distributing media? No, but neither should individuals have their individuality stripped from them nor should they be punished for doing something artistic.

What are your ideas on the S.978 law? I didn't even get into ideas such as fan art or drawings that pull images from copyrighted entertainment. Just imagine how you would feel? Is it really something you want to have happen? Leave your IDEAS which can be OPENLY expressed on the wonderful thing known as the Internet, down below and as always, have a great day. Oh and if you are against this idea help keep it out of our lives by joining the petition HERE. Yes I know Justin Bieber is on the front page but it is a protest page on this Law so ignore the guy we all hate.