pick up where the Napster lawsuits left off.

What is the Stop Online Piracy Act?

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee recognizes SOPA as bill H. R. 3261. It's designed to "expand the ability of the Department of Justice to fight online copyright infringement and counterfeit trafficking," according to Reddit, expanding on the the PROTECT IP Act of 2011 and the Commercial Felony Streaming Act of 2011.

Watch the video below for a crash course on SOPA:

What does this mean for Canadians?



SOPA is a burgeoning online disaster thinly veiled as an American issue, but the ramifications of such censorship will certainly stretch north of the border. Michael Geist of the Toronto Star reveals how the U.S. could claim Canadian domain names in the millions.

"First, it defines a 'domestic domain name' as ajobs."

Who stands for SOPA?

Again, the list is quite extensive, but let's see if you can spot the trend among the few below:

Motion Picture Association of America

Independent Film & Television Alliance

National Association of Theatre Owners

Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc.

National Music Publishers' Association

American Federation of Musicians

Directors Guild of America

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Screen Actors Guild

National Cable & Telecommunications Association

That's right! Uncle Sam seems hell bent on reinvigorating its entertainment industry, and empowering the U.S. government with the ability to enforce a virtual stronghold throughout the internet may simply be an attempt to get you back to purchasing DVDs.

Tomorrow's hearing is unlikely to produce a verdict, but some have already begun preparing for the worst. Coders across the map are discovering workarounds that will allow them to circumvent SOPA's reach. Keep reading