SOPA and PIPA Would Kill Thousands of Jobs
Provisions contained within the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Privacy ACT (SOPA) put an unconstitutional prior restraint on your freedom of speech on the web. Any discourse, be it vocal or virtual, is protected under the First Amendment. SOPA allows the government to target and shut down web sites providing information about the bills' censorship mechanisms or methods of circumvention. To avoid this, sites would need to constantly police and monitor any content on their site - even content not created by the site owners. This becomes an issue for sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and even Wikipedia - they would be stuck with an enormous burden on already strained resources, and could possibly be forced to shut down.
This same provision also aborts almost every potential new online startup. Venture capitalists and businessmen have repeatedly made clear that should these bills pass, investing in new online businesses and sites would pose too great a risk. This kills thousands of new jobs for Americans, and irreparably harms our economy.
How You Can Take Action:
Sign Google's online petition.
Additional Info:
Wikipedia and Other Sites Shut Down in Protest of SOPA and PIPA
Why You Should Say No to SOPA and PIPA
A technical examination of SOPA and PROTECT IP
Law Professors On SOPA and PIPA: Don't Break the Internet
An Updated Analysis: Why SOPA & PIPA Are A Bad Idea, Dangerous & Unnecessary