Candidates Starting To Turn SOPA Into A Campaign Issue: Karen Kwiatkowski Goes After Bob Goodlatte

from the don't-mess-with-the-internet dept

We recently pointed out that it was likely that candidates running against SOPA supporters (especially in the House) would start using SOPA as a campaign issue -- which could draw the attention and support of the netroots community, like the folks at Reddit, who are just itching to support candidates who oppose SOPA supporters. Well, here's one they might want to check out. Karen Kwiatkowski is running against Rep. Bob Goodlatte in Virginia, and is using SOPA as a key campaign talking point, noting accurately that Goodlatte both was in charge of putting SOPA together for much of the year (though, towards the end, Lamar Smith took over) and that he's become Smith's go to guy in ushering the bill through the House. Karen sees this as a big problem:

Bob Goodlatte spent 2011 CO-AUTHORING and INTRODUCING the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). SOPA makes the federal government EVEN BIGGER.

If passed, SOPA will dramatically increase the federal government’s role in our lives, online and offline. It authorizes the Attorney General to block websites accused of copyright infringement from search engines and ISPs. And it allows the Attorney General to “commence action” against them without a court order. SOPA will result in fewer independent websites, blogs, media sources, start-ups and tech industry jobs. And as a result, lower quality.

How will it do this, you ask? Simple. It increases the cost of doing business for U.S. tech firms, payment network providers and advertisers.

In addition to increasing legal and compliance costs for small businesses, it also increases the size and scope of the federal government.

SOPA expands the State Department, Attorney General's Office, Copyright Office and other agencies and creates a new set of bureaucrats. One we have never heard of before is the “intellectual property attache.” IP Attaches will be trained and appointed to regional bureaus, embassies and diplomatic missions throughout the world. And they work with copyright holders at the expense of taxpayers.

With the Reddit community so actively looking for candidates to support, perhaps it's time to check out Karen.

Filed Under: bob goodlatte, campaign issue, free speech, government, karen kwiatkowski, sopa

SOPA Becoming An Election Issue: Challengers Highlighting Reps Who Want To Censor The Internet

from the mucking-with-the-internet-can-backfire dept

One of the reasons that our elected officials in Congress often have no problem pushing through the worst of the worst in copyright policies is that most people don't think or don't realize how much copyright impacts them every day. Copyright sounds boring. From a policy perspective, that's great for politicians who can pass awful legislation that favors large campaign contributors and hurts their constituents, and it never becomes an issue. But once that copyright policy starts mucking with the internet... perhaps it's a different story. Supporters of SOPA keep trying to push the myth that the bill is just about copyright and "rogue sites" and "bad actors." But anyone who's actually read the bill and understands it knows that it's really about massive new internet regulations. And one thing people do get up in arms about... is when the government tries to muck with the internet.

Who knows if it will actually become a big enough campaign issue, but it's already showing up in some places. Karen Kwiatkowski is running for Congress in Virginia's 6th District... a position currently held by Rep. Bob Goodlatte. And while Goodlatte was one of the more moderate voices in the recent SOPA hearings (admitting that the bill needs some changes to reflect the tech industry's interests), he's still a sponsor of the bill, and was very active in the crafting of the bill (though, it sounds like he may have been overruled on some of the points he wanted). Goodlatte might also be hearing complaints about the bill from his own family. As he likes to remind folks in the tech industry, his son works at Facebook... and Facebook has come out strongly against SOPA.

Either way, Kwiatkowski is using SOPA as a key issue against Goodlatte in her campaign against him... and it's already catching the attention of others. Ron Paul's active supporters have really taken to the fight against SOPA, since Rep. Paul came out against the bill, and they're urging the wider community to support Kwiatkowski against Goodlatte for next year's election. It would take a lot to beat a long term incumbent like Goodlatte, but it's still impressive to finally see bad copyright policy (and really a bad internet, innovation and jobs policy) becoming an election issue.

Perhaps it'll make politicians think a little harder next time before introducing legislation to prop up Hollywood.

Filed Under: bob goodlatte, censorship, copyright, elections, karen kwiatkowski, politics, protect ip, ron paul, sopa