Editorial: Minecraft and SOPA

Thousands of Minecraft fans around the world have heard what Mojang has to say about SOPA. Notch clearly said on his personal blog that no sane person can support SOPA in it's current form. But the problem is that not everyone clearly understands what this bill is and what it does. In fact, the one post I have made in the last about SOPA generated lots of emails and even two Minecraft Forum topics. I'm only 13 years old, so I clearly can't talk about politics without making myself a fool. But what I will try to do is help you (Powered by Redstone readers) understand exactly what SOPA and PIPA are.

come on!! we want to play just now online and we have PAYED for playing Minecraft. BUT WE CANT PLAY JUST BECAUSE OF SOME S*** TO PIPA and SOPA. I mean come on!! We like the game!
-A Minecraft Player

This is what happens when some dork rants about something he does not know about. I found this while browsing around on the 'Minenet' (a new word I just made up) about playing Minecraft online. This is what I hope will not be you after you finish reading this. To sum it up, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) is a bill that the U.S. government was trying to pass until recently that would give the media industry the ability to shut down websites infringing on copyright. PIPA (Protect IP Act) gives the same people the power to shut down IP addresses infringing on copyright.

These bills do not effect Minecraft in any way, since companies like Mojang create their own content not copyrighted by someone else. Since many Mojang employees and Minecraft community members (BebopVox and CaptainSparklez to name a few) have spoken out against this, people like the dork above assume that Mojang's games will be shut down if it gets passed. This is not true in any form or fashion.

If all you read in this article is the next sentence, you will almost get enough knowledge about this topic. SOPA and PIPA do not affect Mojang or Minecraft in any way, and they will not be shut down. SOPA and PIPA only affect websites and not video games. If you still have questions about SOPA and PIPA (and I'm sure you do), watch the video below by CaptainSparklez and all of your questions will be answered.