“It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.” - Lamar Smith, the chief sponsor of SOPA (http://mashable.com/2012/01/20/sopa-is-dead-smith-pulls-bill/)
That quote is where the real problem lies: Why does the American Government think it should have jurisdiction over what foreign companies do in other countries? If it has no presence within the US, it should lie outside our government's rule. America does not rule the world, and should not act like it does.
Many are acting like SOPA was a good idea done badly. It was a bad idea done badly.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120113/09184917400/us-to-extradite-uk-student-copyright-infringement-despite-site-being-legal-uk.shtml
Residents of other countries should not need to worry about US law when they aren't doing business with the US. The idea that America can impose it's laws upon other countries is absurd. Yet that is exactly what SOPA was intended to do: Force other countries to obey American laws.
Additional reading: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/if-the-feds-can-shut-down-megaupload-why-do-they-need-sopa.ars
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