> you can let Congress know that you oppose mandatory censorship filters. Fight for the Future is leading a petition opposing the harmful impacts of the legislation that will be delivered to Congress on 25th April, 2022. You can sign the petition at https://nocensorshipfilter.com and make sure Congress knows just how many people are concerned about the impacts this bill will have on free speech.
The "SMART Copyright Act" would:
- Create universal automated censorship chokepoints across the internet by requiring expensive content filters that we already know don’t work and regularly silence lawful speech
- Encourage surveillance backdoors in everything from Canva to Google Drive to internet service provider traffic, since it is written to apply at all layers of the internet
- Mandate filtering of all content online at all levels, from Big Tech platforms like Twitch and Instagram to ISPs like Verizon and Comcast—and for any other platform that lets people speak or share online
- Force these companies to compromise the safety and security of the internet with mandated use of software even if it has massive flaws, or risk being sued
> the labels, publishers and other rightsholder groups backing “stay down” filters will all tell you that Content ID routinely allows infringing materials through. That’s because it is such a blunt instrument: The matching heuristics it uses are easy to study and evade…if you are an actual pirate. So pirates study the system, figure out how to evade it, and post with impunity. By definition, then, filters only catch the people who don’t think they’re doing something infringing — while deliberate infringers slip through.