Stop Online Piracy Act endangers health of millions
posted Tue, 15 Nov 2011Here's a great blog post about SOPA's potential impact on public health from RxRights Coalition member Dan Hines, the publisher of a series of leading informational websites for an aging America.
The law of unintended consequences is a warning that an intervention in a complex system tends to create unanticipated and often undesirable outcomes.
The Stop Online Pharmacy Act (SOPA) claimed by its sponsors to be the answer to protecting the intellectual property of Americans—an admirable goal—is the latest example that will without doubt lead to unintended consequences that will affect the health and well-being of millions of Americans by denying them access to safe, affordable medicines from reputable pharmacies in countries outside the U.S.
Furthermore, the proposed legislation will not meet its goals, because it will create an unworkable and vague enforcement trigger that does not rely upon a system of law and courts, but instead that allows the Justice Department to cede to private entities the right to initiate action against individuals or websites, with such action carrying with it an assumption of guilt of the party being charged. Read more