Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Goodbye ASMP

Sure was a good idea
'Til greed got in the way

-Bob Dillon

I've been a member of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) since 2003, but I won't be renewing my membership this year.

ASMP supports the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) which would destroy the internet as we know it if enacted. This short sighted bill (H.R. 3261) is supported by virtually all of the big media corporations and would give them the ability to effectively censor the internet through government intervention. While I'm in favor of protecting the rights of the creator, this ham-fisted bill goes far beyond that, giving control of the internet to these huge media corporations. Worse, it's set up to be fast-tracked through congress. My problem is that Columbia may decide to come after me for using the opening quote, or they might decide to shut my hosting company down. And there are the security issues around DNS blocking that this bill requires.

The innovation we've come to expect as a result of the openness of the internet is at stake. ASMP supports SOPA. I will not fund an organization that supports this misguided legislation.

Do something about it here.

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