SOPA/PIPA: Enforcing the tragedy of the anti-commons

[jon_leonard]

One of the more noteworthy provisions of the proposed legislation is that it calls for blocking entire sites to deal with infringing content. This is unfortunate in terms of collateral damage: A site like LiveJournal could be blocked over content that I (as a user) have no control over, as a consequence of going after "bad guys". (A similar

Comments

[nemene]

Even if SOPA/PIPA passes, which I hope it won't, I can't see it lasting past the first time it is used against a site with finicial backing. The First time someone is able to challenge it thru the legal system should get it thrown out on constitutional terms. However, this is a wonderful example of how big govenment ends up supporting big business and the common man loses.

[jon_leonard]

Possibly; but constitutional challenges take time, and early use probably wouldn't be against hard targets, etc. Then there's techniques like passing new legislation before the old one gets thrown out, etc. Even highly suspect legislation can do a lot of damage.

It's probably worth drawing a distinction between "supporting big business" and crony capitalism (or rent-seeking, or public choice problems; whatever name applies). I view the processes of Congress picking favorites, and businesses seeking special treatment to be the characteristic problem at issue. There can (theoretically?) exist large businesses that neither seek nor receive special treatment, and small businesses can certainly benefit from this sort of favoritism. But I suspect that we're largely in agreement.