The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations on December 10 1948. The Declaration offered hope after the horrors of the World War II.

Article 19 of the Declaration states:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”

The proposed Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) is the latest legislative act that desecrates the memory of those that fought for these rights. Barely three weeks ago, using the cover of NYE 2011, Obama signed into law NDAA – the National Defense Authorization Act.

The act allows for any person, US citizen or not, to be lawfully detained indefinitely by the US military, without charge or trial or even access to a lawyer, should that person be suspected of terrorist activities, or having associated with terrorist organisations. Much like SOPA, the language is vague, ripe for abuse and contradicts the freedoms upon which America was founded.

But unlike the silence that shadowed the passing of NDAA, opposition to SOPA is widespread and attracting attention. Google have collected more than 7 million signatures protesting against the act. The top dogs understand this act isn’t good for business, and have facilitated a ground swell of opposition, to which lawmakers are taking note. It seems unlikely the act will pass in its current form.

It would be nice to think that companies like Facebook and Google are more interested in protecting our freedoms than their bottom line. But in a world dominated by commerce, it seems our “freedom” is only protected and fought for if it’s commodified.