(Image: ThinkStock)

How would you feel about the U.S. government policing the Internet? Well, a new bill, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) would allow them to control content on the World Wide Web as we know it today. There are major concerns with the application of this bill that run must deeper than just blocking Websites. Imagine for a moment what this type of censorship would mean: any content you post to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or any other social network or website could be blocked and become unsearchable on the Internet because of a single link.

The underlining issue of protecting intellectual property is a real problem, which is supposedly why the bill has been proposed. For content providers law enforcement to fight online trafficking and copyrighting infringements sounds like a noble and justifiable reason to pass the bill. But, the collateral damage of this bill’s passage would be so immense that it would far out weight the value that it would provide based upon how the bill is proposed today.

The Impact of SOPA on Entrepreneurs

Let’s look even deeper at this bill, which would be stifling to entrepreneurs, who are the lifeline of the economy. Booz & Co. interviewed 200 prominent angel investors and venture capitalist about this bill and reported that 70% of them would be deterred from investing if anti-piracy regulations were passed. This would impact innovation and job creation in the U.S. Think about the impact to Silicon Valley and other tech hubs, as well.

What Would be the Long-Term Impact of SOPA?

• There would be fewer startups launching because of the increase legal risk.
• Social networks, personal pages and sites where people express themselves could become unsearchable and blocked on the Internet.
• Email providers could be forced to censor emails to scan for links users send or receive.
• Content you share in your social networks would be monitored and censored—this includes photos, videos and status updates.
• Increased censorship would possibility remove legitimate content that you are sharing.
• Payment-processing companies like PayPal could be forced to stop doing business with sites that have been blocked.
• Most U.S.-based hosting services would relocate outside the U.S. jurisdiction, which would result in lost jobs.
• Site owners would become liable for user-posted content, if they don’t do enough to stop users from posting “illegal” content on his/her site, which could become very costly.

Which Popular Sites Would be at Risk?

• Facebook
• Google
• Twitter
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Vimeo
• And countless other websites and/or social networks

What Actions Can You Take?

Send your Congressman a pre-written letter via the American Censorship website (click here).

Sign the ‘Stop the E-Parasite Act’ petition by clicking here.

Follow the Electronic Frontier on Twitter to stay posted on your digital civil liberalities @EFF.

Check out the TechCrunch procedure list of over 40+ companies against SOPA by clicking here.

Army Gen. William "Kip" Ward (right) accepts a lifetime leadership award from Albert E. Dotson Jr., chairman of the 100 Black Men of America Inc. (Source: Zef Nikolla)

BlackEnterprise.com: What do you think Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) can do to assist young African American men and women who are interested in achieving a career in the military?

Gen. William “Kip” Ward: First and foremost, they can provide a quality education. That obviously will set our youngsters up for a career in the military or any other endeavor. I think the educational background is the basic ingredient, and it is certainly something that I was very blessed to receive from Morgan State University. HBCUs provide an atmosphere that nurtures and cares, but doesn’t cajole or coddle the student either. That supportive environment says you can be anything you want to be. Those qualities give HBCUs great merit.

What programs has the Army implemented to encourage African Americans to rise through the ranks the way that you did?

The Junior ROTC program on high school campuses does not presuppose a commitment to the military. It provides a structured environment that allows men and women to be responsible, display initiative, and take responsibility for their actions. Clearly those who continue to pursue that in a military career are well served by those experiences, but those life skills are also applicable and transferrable in many fields of endeavor.

Gen. Ward greets former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder during the awards banquet. (Source: Zef Nikolla)

My goal is that at AFRICOM we listen to the things that Africans say are important to them, and understand where those lines of consistency lie with our security objectives. The goal is to see increasingly more stable nations on the continent, contributing to the care of their people and to global security in substantial ways. When you have a stable continent of Africa that affects our stability, because in the days of a mobilized environment what happens in one part of the world, clearly affects all of us.

How has your command developed a strategy to try to reduce the threat of piracy?

It is an international concern, and it is not something that my command will do as an independent activity. We want to work with the international community and the African Union as they develop their programs. We need to address the ability of the nations to control their territorial waters and have the ability to police those waters in effective ways. Our strategy is to support Africa’s efforts, not to develop stand alone activities. Our instruction to their security organizations will provide additional capabilities to protect their territorial waters from illegal fishing and trafficking.

What advice would you give and what skills do you suggest one should try to acquire if they are interested in achieving the status of a four-star general?

I think being a four-star general is nice, but it is not something that everyone should try to achieve. You can’t be focused on yourself. Focus on doing the things that cause your teammates to be better. By doing so, you elevate the activities and achievements of the entire team. And if you are recognized and elevated, then that is great, but more importantly we elevate our fellow human beings and we elevate our organizations so that we are all in a better position to achieve things that will make a difference for all of us.