I won't be blacking out this site in solidarity only because I don't have the technology to leave a marker telling people where I've gone for how long and why. So, instead I'm posting the following information from Wikipedia about why they're protesting the Stop On-line Piracy Act (SOPA) over the next 24 hours, and won't be posting anything else here for the next day out of respect for their blackout (and those of the 7000 other websites lining up with them).
Be sure to contact your congressional representatives during the blackout (midnight 1/18 to midnight 1/19) from the link below and tell them you don't support SOPA, PIPA, or any such legislation
--------------from Wikipedia-----------
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- What effect is the blackout having, so far?
- The purpose of the blackout is twofold: to raise awareness of SOPA
and PIPA among the general public, and to encourage people to share
their views with their representatives. It's too early to tell what the
ultimate impact will be, but here are some early indicators, as of 1PM
PT January 18:
- Why is Wikipedia blacked-out?
- Wikipedia is protesting against SOPA and PIPA by blacking out the
English Wikipedia for 24 hours, beginning at midnight January 18,
Eastern Time. Readers who come to English Wikipedia during the blackout
will not be able to read the encyclopedia. Instead, you will see
messages intended to raise awareness about SOPA and PIPA, encouraging
you to share your views with your representatives, and with each other
on social media.
- What are SOPA and PIPA?
- SOPA and PIPA represent two bills in the United States House of
Representatives and the United States Senate respectively. SOPA is short
for the "Stop Online Piracy Act," and PIPA is an acronym for the
"Protect IP Act." ("IP" stands for "intellectual property.") In short,
these bills are efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by
foreign web sites, but, in our opinion, they do so in a way that
actually infringes free expression while harming the Internet. Detailed
information about these bills can be found in the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act
articles on Wikipedia, which are available during the blackout.
GovTrack lets you follow both bills through the legislative process: SOPA on this page, and PIPA on this one.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated
to advocating for the public interest in the digital realm, has summarized why these bills are simply unacceptable in a world that values an open, secure, and free Internet.
- Why is the blackout happening?
- Wikipedians have chosen to black out the English Wikipedia for the
first time ever, because we are concerned that SOPA and PIPA will
severely inhibit people's access to online information. This is not a
problem that will solely affect people in the United States: it will
affect everyone around the world.
- Why? SOPA and PIPA are badly drafted legislation that won't be
effective at their stated goal (to stop copyright infringement), and
will cause serious damage to the free and open Internet. They put the
burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call
for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won't have
sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek
to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if
copyright isn't being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted,
which means they won't show up in major search engines. And, SOPA and
PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.
- Does this mean that Wikipedia itself is violating copyright laws, or hosting pirated content?
- No, not at all. Some supporters of SOPA and PIPA characterize
everyone who opposes them as cavalier about copyright, but that is not
accurate. Wikipedians are knowledgeable about copyright and vigilant in
protecting against violations: Wikipedians spend thousands of hours
every week reviewing and removing infringing content. We are careful
about it because our mission is to share knowledge freely. To that end,
all Wikipedians release their contributions under a free license, and
all the material we offer is freely licensed. Free licenses are
incompatible with copyright infringement, and so infringement is not
tolerated.
- Isn't SOPA dead? Wasn't the bill shelved, and didn't the White House
declare that it won't sign anything that resembles the current bill?
- No, neither SOPA nor PIPA is dead. On January 17th, SOPA's sponsor
said the bill will be discussed in early February. There are signs PIPA
may be debated on the Senate floor next week. Moreover, SOPA and PIPA
are just indicators of a much broader problem. In many jurisdictions
around the world, we're seeing the development of legislation that
prioritizes overly-broad copyright enforcement laws, laws promoted by
power players, over the preservation of individual civil liberties.
- How could SOPA and PIPA hurt Wikipedia?
- SOPA and PIPA are a threat to Wikipedia in many ways. For example,
in its current form, SOPA would require Wikipedia to actively monitor
every site we link to, to ensure it doesn't host infringing content. Any
link to an infringing site could put us in jeopardy of being forced
offline.
- I live in the United States. What's the best way for me to help?
- The most effective action you can take is to call your
representatives and tell them you oppose SOPA and PIPA, and any similar
legislation. Type your zipcode in the locator box to find your representatives' contact information. Text-based communication is okay, but phone calls have the most impact.
- I don't live in the United States. How can I help?
- Contact your local State Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or
similar branch of government. Tell them you oppose SOPA and PIPA, and
any similar legislation. SOPA and PIPA will affect sites outside of the
United States, and actions to sites inside the United States (like
Wikipedia) will also affect non-American readers -- like you. Calling
your own government will also let them know you don't want them to
create their own bad anti-Internet legislation.
- Is it still possible to access Wikipedia in any way?
- Yes. During the blackout, Wikipedia is accessible on mobile devices
and smart phones. You can also view Wikipedia normally by disabling
JavaScript in your browser, as explained on this Technical FAQ page.
Our purpose here isn't to make it completely impossible for people to
read Wikipedia, and it's okay for you to circumvent the blackout. We
just want to make sure you see our message.
- I keep hearing that this is a fight between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Is that true?
- No. Some people are characterizing it that way, probably in an
effort to imply all the participants are motivated by commercial
self-interest. But it's obviously not that simple. The proof of that is
Wikipedia's involvement. Wikipedia has no financial self-interest at
play here: we do not benefit from copyright infringement, nor are we
trying to monetize traffic or sell ads. We are protesting to raise
awareness about SOPA and PIPA solely because we think they will hurt the
Internet, and your ability to access information online. We are doing
this for you, because we're on your side.
- In carrying out this protest, is Wikipedia abandoning neutrality?
- We hope you continue to trust Wikipedia to be a neutral information
source. We are staging this blackout because (as Wikimedia Foundation
Trustee Kat Walsh said recently), although Wikipedia’s articles are
neutral, its existence is not. For over a decade, Wikipedians have spent
millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history.
Wikipedia is a tremendously useful resource, and its existence depends
upon a free, open and uncensored Internet. SOPA and PIPA (and other
similar laws under discussion inside and outside the United States) will
hurt you, because they will make it impossible for sites you enjoy, and
benefit from, to continue to exist. That's why we're doing this.
- I have a question that isn't answered here, or, I would like to send feedback to Wikipedia.
- You can reach Wikipedia editors at info-en(at)wikimedia(dot)org. If
you need a response, please be patient: we may have trouble keeping up
with the mail.
- What can I read to get more information?
- Try these links:
- As of 6AM PT, January 18, Google has more than 4,600 articles about the blackout. Here are a few:
- Why is Wikipedia staging a blackout and what is SOPA?, from the National Post
- Wikipedia joins blackout protest at US anti-piracy moves, from the British Broadcasting Corporation
- Wikipedia blackout over US anti-piracy bills and FEATURE: Websites blackout over 'SOPA censorship', from Al Jazeera
- Wikipedia, Craigslist, other sites go black in SOPA protest, from the Los Angeles Times
- Google Rallies Opposition to Murdoch-Backed Anti-Piracy Bill, from BusinessWeek
- SOPA protest: The Net strikes back, from Politico
- Wikipedia blackout a 'gimmick', MPAA boss claims, from the Guardian
- Wikipedia 24-hour blackout: a reader and Why we're taking Wikipedia down for a day, from the New Statesman
- Internet-wide protests against SOPA/PIPA are kicking up a storm, by the Hindustan Times
- SOPA, PIPA: What you need to know, from CBS News
- Protest on Web Uses Shutdown to Take On Two Piracy Bills, from the New York Times
- Protesting SOPA: how to make your voice heard, from Ars Technica
- Why We've Censored Wired.com, from Wired
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