Yep. I made the paper, and thankfully it wasn’t for anything bad! I was pleased to have the opportunity to chat with Brian Amaral of the Watertown Daily Times yesterday about the SOPA and PIPA legislation that is currently in Congress. Like many tech-savvy folks, I’m wholeheartedly against these bills, because I am concerned about the threat they pose to civil liberties and the basic technical functions of the Internet. At the same time, I’m not convinced they’ll do much to truly aid in protecting intellectual property for American businesses and individuals.

Here’s a quote from the article:

A self-proclaimed “geek,” Champion resident Leonard A. Flack had never contacted a federal representative before.

That was until Democratic Rep. William L. Owens became a co-sponsor of the Stop Online Piracy Act, a piece of legislation that is aimed at curtailing the theft of copyrighted material but has been criticized by tech giants and everyday geeks alike as overly broad and damaging to the Internet.

“I’m not big on anything that messes with (the Domain Name System) or gives the government wide, sweeping authority to go in and shut down websites footloose and fancy free,” said Mr. Flack, who describes himself politically as independent-minded and “liberty-focused.”

I think it’s an excellent piece. Check out the rest of the article here: “As sites black out in SOPA protest, Owens hears from critics”

(Note: It will be posted on the WDT site for the next week or so; then it will be archived.)