With the introduction of social networks and internet technologies that enable people to connect and share ideas, there are legislations that have been introduced that are geared at enabling a safe environment. With the recent developments in the Middle East, there is a concern that social networking sites bring to the whole scenario of Internet and social networks. The Middle East experienced a revolution that toppled some governments. An example is Tunisia and Egypt.
I support the need to have legislations like ACTA, SOPA and TAFTA because of the fact that there is a need to protect copyright laws. There is a need to ensure that the copyright laws are protected. For a long time, the products from the US have been cloned by such countries like China and India. This aspect of not obeying copyright laws is a letdown to the economy. The innovators will be discouraged. For the realization of economic growth, there is a need to have the innovations and products being protected.
I do not support these legislations and policies when it comes to privacy. The privacy is being threatened with the introduction of these laws. I fear the effect that these laws will have on personal information. SOPA, ACTA, PIPA, TPP, and ITU are meant to deny internet users the right to have their private information all to themselves. This is something that should be taken care of and controlled. Online privacy will be compromised with the success of these legislations and laws. I support the view that private information should be shared by the owners and a few companies which are involved in the service provision and not by third parties without the permission of the owners of this information. This information should be protected at all times. For a long time, there has been the urge and effort to have confidential information for corporate and business use against the will of the owners. What the government of China is doing in their quest to censor internet use is that they are protecting government information and the freedom of the internet users. Without controlling this freedom, there could be uprising experienced. It is important to understand that the freedom of internet use could lead to uprising if it is not controlled.
Governments and agencies should strive to ensure that the privacy of internet users should be protected and guaranteed. These bodies that are striving to get private information should be defeated by all means. The claim that private information is used to track the perpetrators of piracy and other unlawful acts is not enough reason to have this information being controlled by some private companies. The concern here is what the agencies will do with the information that remains. What about the people who are not involved with this vice, what will their information be used for? This is just a way to get access to private information. There should be other way of curbing malpractices like piracy without accessing the information of internet users.
In conclusion, I feel that there should be ways in which piracy can be controlled. The agencies should be defeated in their quest to have access to private information. Other ways of curbing cybercrime like piracy should be controlled. I support the quest to have copyright laws protected as it enables economic growth. I also support partial censoring of internet use for safety of countries.
