On May 12, 2011, senators in the U.S. senate proposed a bill entitled “Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011”, otherwise known as the Protect IP Act. The goal of the legislation is to protect American intellectual property owners from theft and piracy online. The Protect IP Act will grant the U.S. Attorney General and corporations the power to sue owners and operators of U.S.-based websites that they believe to be in violation, and to perform what is known as an “in rem” action (“an action against property without involving the owner”) against websites where the owner is not American or cannot be located. At the expense of legitimate commerce, the bill takes an overreaching approach to policing the internet, which can be seen as a serious breach of corporate security and individual privacy. Not only is the internet used as a tool for free speech and global communication, it is also the very lifeline of many corporations that do business stretching across the globe. The Protect IP Act would give “rights holders” the means to prevent the U.S. public from accessing websites that are believed to be violating intellectual property rights. Two other major groups are affected by the legislation: online financial transaction providers (the best known example would be PayPal) and online advertising services. E-commerce providers would be forced to stop all payments and transfers of funds being made to or by American customers located in the U.S. when given an order to do so. Online ad companies would be forced to immediately stop doing business with any site listed in the order. The bill says this must be done “expeditiously” (in an efficient manner), once again at the cost of the service provider. The internet was created to share ideas with people across the globe, and to exchange information at lightning speed, free of any censor. The U.S. stands for freedom and liberty, and this bill is a direct contradiction to the first amendment. This bill will choke free information travel and create unnecessary annoyances for companies who do business all across the globe. Not only will it give corporations the right to sue at will and take down any website within moments, the bill might lead to abuse of power. In short, it would make it possible for big corporations to take down smaller and perhaps more innovative companies on even a hint of suspicion (evidence may sometimes not even be required). Even if the bill is passed, user behaviours are unlikely to change because of the very nature of the internet; people will always find a way around blocks and censors. Increasing fines and punishment will do little good, as these are already very high for pirating online in the USA. The “In rem” action is excessive, judging and punishing individuals without giving them the chance to defend themselves first is a violation of basic rights. The Protect IP Act appears to be a law completely backed by corporations that are trying to suppress competition and consolidate their dominance. Whenever free thinking and freedom of information / speech flourish, social improvements occur; every time they get restricted, the world takes a step backwards. Information cannot be stopped; the uprisings in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia serve as prime examples of the power of free information.