I spy one cited quotation in the bunch that mentions China specifically and even that mention draws comparisons in a moderate way: "...comparable IN SOME WAYS to China's 'great firewall.'"

Hyperbole of the featured arguments aside (and honestly, as Americans are we not yet used to Hyperbole shaping the borders of public debate - as this author so aptly demonstrates by example in his own headline), SOPA and PIPA do contain some pretty key provisions that are ambiguous enough to cause concern to folks interested in internet freedom. When you have large corporations that generally tow the government regulatory line and make significant profits while doing it (Google) protesting so actively then perhaps its time to take notice and not give an inexpert legislative body a blank check to regulate our internet usage.

Are we at risk of Chinaesque censorship, of course not. Do these concerns warrant the application of the aforementioned "World's Smallest Violin"? That may be a bit much in a headline attacking others for exaggerated arguments.

There are countless other examples of things that would never happen in the United States of America.

Do you think if someone asked you in 2000 if American citizens could be executed without trial, you would have thought that could happen? What about holding people indefinitely in a legal black hole, refusing to discuss our reasons for holding them, or even to inform their families of their whereabouts and torturing them at our whim?

Over time, any potential tool to enslave the people will eventually be used. Maybe you think the provisions in these bills can't really damage innovation and free speech in the ways some people fear. Fine. Make that argument. But to try and claim it doesn't matter because our government is run by nice people won't ever use such powers to do bad things is so naive it's hard to accept that it wasn't meant to be sarcastic.

do you think the chinese communist party could get away with the awful things it does if it couldn't hide them from the populace?

This is a slippery slope, and while I think you make a valid point that SOPA would not lead immediately to an internet similar to China's it could very well lead to an internet that is censored to where only a few thousand sites are allowed on the internet like cable tv and the preset channels. You need to look longer down the road than you are in your article, more like 10-20 years and then rewrite the article from that perspective. The DMCA has lead to SOPA and PIPA and the legislation after these bills will be much more restraining. Just look at what we have to watch on our tv consoles today, it is commercial consumerism to the highest level. We are not treated like they are in China, but we are abused over and over with commercials and consumerism that controls our culture and people in a type of prison that is legal. It is tough to break free from our society and culture, and without a free internet I would need a lot of enoxaparin just to deal with the limitation of things. PIPA ans SOPA have the potential to be disastrous, lets face the facts of what the legislation says and then look at the litigious society that we live in and how lawyers can twist the law to suit themselves and their clients.

I think no one doubts the intention of the bill. Stop piracy and protect intellectual property rights online. That is something worth working towards.

However, when a bill is drafted it is also important to see the collateral damage being done while trying to achieve a worth while objective.

If the end results are the same as what the Chinese govt does intentionally, it is OK to make some noise and get the US Govt. to listen. We are in the midst of a presidential election: surely a bit of hyperbole is justified.

On the internet it should be free and should have freedom of speech. If they filter the internet, it will be hard even for us to consume info and not to mention music promotion companies like ourselves will have a tough time to promote artists on the free web.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg spoke out against both the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) Internet piracy bills. Within the post, Zuckerberg states “The Internet is the most powerful tool we have for creating a more open and connected world. We can’t let poorly thought out laws get in the way of the Internet’s development. Facebook opposes SOPA and PIPA, and we will continue to oppose any laws that will hurt the Internet.” Zuckerberg went on to encourage his 10.9 million subscribers to contact their local congressmen and advocate pro-Internet views on the subject of SOPA and PIPA.