Should Congress Censor the Web?

I personally do not know a lot about the upcoming vote and how exactly a yes vote will censor the internet.  For those that of you that may be wondering what I’m referring to, I’m referring to the  SOPA  and the  PROTECT IP Act.  Congress will be voting on these acts January 24th.  From what I understand the acts are suppose to help fight piracy on the internet.  However, there are many businesses that feel this will hinder the thrive the internet gives their business.  Want to see examples?  Just check out www.google.com or www.firefox.com.  They currently have voiced their opinion on the issue on their main page.

If what Firefox and Google reports is accurate, the US government will have unprecedented control over the internet (both within and outside the country).  Firefox and Google feels this will hinder our freedom of speech on the internet.  But that in of itself brings up an interesting question.  When the freedom of speech was put into the constitution, the internet did not exist.  Should the internet receive the same freedom as our verbal speech is?  Is our written word any different than our typed word?  As far as I know the press still falls under the freedom of speech, so why should the internet be any different?  Those who think our government is becoming more of a socialist minded government will definitely see that in this move.  Why do I say that?  The same censorship the US Government wants to put into place is currently used by China, Iran, and Syria.  

Feel free to comment below.  If this is not now, it will be a hot topic.