Today the international hacktivist collective known as Anonymous is leading an Internet blackout in opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). A whole host of websites are joining the blackout, including heavy hitters like Wikipedia, Google and Reddit.
Everyone can join in on #BlackoutSOPA at Jan 18th! Shut down your pages for 12 hrs from 8a-8p EST and show a message opposing #SOPA! #J18
SOPA , also known as the Internet censorship bill, would radically restrict Internet freedom in an attempt to protect intellectual property rights. Critics claim the bill, if passed, would cripple the Internet as we know it. Indeed, SOPA has the potential to cripple websites that rely on user-uploaded content like YouTube, Wikipedia, Facebook and Reddit.
According to OpenCongress.org, SOPA: The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA – HR3261), is a bill that “would establish a system for taking down websites that the Justice Department determines to be dedicated to copyright infringement.”
If passed, SOPA would allow copyright holders to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling copyright infringement. The offending sites could then be dropped by advertisers, removed from search engine results and barred from using payment processing networks.
The blackout is meant to grab the attention of lawmakers returning to Washington D.C. this week.
Reddit Founder Alexis Ohanian made the following remark about SOPA:
"Why is it that when Republicans and Democrats need to solve the budget and the deficit, there's deadlock, but when Hollywood lobbyists pay them $94 million dollars to write legislation, people from both sides of the aisle line up to co-sponsor it?"
Wikipedia left the following message announcing their blackout in opposition to SOPA:
For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia.
Over a 100 websites have pledged to go black on Wednesday in opposition to SOPA, and companion legislation to SOPA, PIPA (the Protect IP Act).
Comments