There seem to be a lot of lines fading recently, particularly when it comes to the Internet. 2012 is sure to be a banner year for social media law, what with all the Facebook citations in divorce proceedings and social media evidence in court.

Which brings us to perhaps the most hot-button topic of all right now: SOPA. Sure, a lot of the major players in the raging battle over SOPA are financially motivated (who isn’t these days?), but it brings about a really, really important question: how long can the Internet remain largely unregulated by the government? (And, a topic for another time: are bloggers considered journalists?)

We’re just posing questions here, not necessarily editorializing or even waxing poetic about the end of the Internet as we know it. Trust us, everyone and their tech-savvy little brother are weighing in on the issue. It was only a matter of time before the elected Luddites decided they wanted a place at the e-table. But would it kill them to educate themselves first? Or at least bring in some experts who can?

Let’s be honest, SOPA probably won’t pass as is, but the debate ain’t going anywhere. And, as noted by John Biggs of TechCrunch:

“SOPA is a straw man. We can keep our freedom on the Internet. However, as we give big businesses more of our time, attention, and personal information, we build a cage of our own making, no SOPA required.”