The Internet is one of the United States' most robust and growing industries.

It enables free and open communication among billions,

and it's been the backbone for protests around the world.

But a new bill proposes to give the power to censor the Internet

to the entertainment industry.

It's called PROTECT IP, and here's how it works.

Private corporations want the ability to shut down unauthorized sites

where people download movies, TV shows, and music.

Since most of these sites are outside US jurisdiction,

PROTECT IP uses a couple different tactics within American borders.

Firstly, it gives the government the power to make

US Internet providers block access to infringing domain names.

They can also sue US-based search engines,

directories, or even blogs and forums,

to have links to these sites removed.

Secondly, PROTECT IP gives corporations and

the government the ability to cut off funds to

infringing websites by having US-based advertisers

and payment services cancel those accounts.

In a nutshell, that's what PROTECT IP will try to do.

But in all likelihood, it'll do something else altogether.

For starters, it won't stop downloaders.

You'll still be able to access a blocked site

just by entering its IP address instead of its name.

What PROTECT IP will do is cripple new startups

because it also lets companies sue any site

they feel isn't doing their filtering well enough.

These lawsuits could easily bankrupt new search engines

and social media sites.

And PROTECT IP's wording is ambiguous enough

that important social media sites could become

targets.

Lots of trailblazing websites could look like

piracy heavens to the wrong judge.

Tumblr, SoundCloud, an early YouTube,

wherever people express themselves, make art,

broadcast news or organize protests,

there's plenty of TV footage, movie clips,

and copyrighted music mixed in.

And even if you trust the US government

not to abuse their new power to censor the Net,

what about the countries that follow in our path

and pass similar laws?

People around the world will have very different

Internets, and unscrupulous governments will have

powerful tools to hinder free expression.

But perhaps most dangerously, PROTECT IP will

meddle with the inner workings of the Net.

Experts believe by fiddling with the web's registry

of domain names, the result will be less security,

and less stability.

In short, PROTECT IP won't stop piracy, but it will

introduce vast potential for censorship and abuse,

while making the web less safe and less reliable.

This is the Internet we're talking about!

It's a vital and vibrant medium.

And our government is tampering with its

basic structure, so people will maybe buy more

Hollywood movies.

But Hollywood movies don't get grassroots candidates

elected. They don't overthrow corrupt regimes,

and the entire entertainment industry doesn't even

contribute that much to our economy.

The Internet does all these, and more.

Corporations already have tools to fight piracy.

They have the power to take down specific content,

to sue peer-to-peer software companies out of existence,

and to sue journalists just for talking about how to

copy a DVD.

They have a history of stretching and abusing

their powers. They tried to take a baby video

off YouTube, just for the music playing in

the background. They've used legal penalties

written for large-scale commercial piracy

to go after families and children.

They even sued to ban the VCR and the first

MP3 players.

So the question is, "How far will they take all this?"

The answer at this point, is obvious.

As far as we'll let them.