After the blackout of major Internet players like Wikipedia, Google and Twitter, interest and awareness of Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) were through the roof. The internet generation was ablaze with anger over the idea that the government wanted the power to essentially control content on the internet, and shut down any websites that violated vague policies with plenty of leeway for governmental abuse. And while it’s great to see indifferent college students tweeting and texting about First Amendment Issues, they missed the point: The government doesn’t even need the power-hungry language in SOPA and PIPA, they can already seize websites, international boundaries be damned.

Megaupload.com, one of the most popular file-sharing sites in the world, was shut down by the U.S. government. In place of the website, there is a U.S. District Court notice stating that all entities involved with megaupload.com are being charged with: “Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering, Conspiracy to Commit Copyright Infringement, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, and Criminal Copyright Infringement.”

Much like the Wikileaks case, the U.S. Government crossed international borders to protect the interests of the people they serve big business. Film, music and T.V. Industries have spent $91 million this year alone lobbying for SOPA, according to watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics. That $91 million has bought them spotted congressional support from both sides of the aisle, until massive public outrage postponed the bill.

The entertainment industry was also looking to hold content housing sites such as Youtube or Facebook responsible for policing copyright infringement, and potentially allowing lawsuits against the housing site and the individual who posted it. It also would allow internet service providers to block individual websites for any reason without informing the owner.

The idea that the government can already cross international boundaries and shut down content housing websites just because its users upload copyright infringed content is absurd. Millions of copyright “infringed” videos are uploaded everyday. The entertainment industry wants to essentially kill fair use doctrine in order to protect its material. Universal Music Publishing group pushed to remove a video of a dancing baby because the Prince song “Let’s Go Crazy” was playing in background.

This violation of fair use opens the door for all kinds of abuse. The mere suggestion of copyright infringement is enough for content to be removed from the internet. It offers no real piracy protection and only serves to hamper a creative community of artists, political bloggers, musicians and many others from sharing content in the name of padding big business’ coffers.