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Wikipedia to go dark for 24 hours in protest of SOPA
On every Wikipedia page the following message appears, emblazoned in a stark black banner: “Please note: In less than 15 hours, the English Wikipedia will be blacked out globally to protest SOPA and PIPA.” It then directs Wikipedia to “learn more” with a button on the lower right hand corner of the banner. The free, open-source internet encyclopedia will be joined by Reddit (who have exerted pressure on both Paul Ryan and Patrick Leahy regarding SOPA and PIPA), Mozilla and Boing Boing, as well as the sites in the Cheezburger Network..
SOPA and PIPA, subject of vigorous reporting and criticism here at Death and Taxes, was crafted to allow private entities or copyright holders, namely the entertainment industry, to petition the government to have any foreign site suspected of online piracy blockaded at the Domain Name System (DNS) level as well as financially through payment systems, and all without due process. Though online piracy is certainly problematic, the blockade of sites such as Tor (which enables anonymous activism and whistleblowing) and The Pirate Bay reeked of the tactics regularly used in totalitarian regimes such as China, Iran and Syria.
Last week, the chief sponsor of Protect IP Act (PIPA), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), admitted that there were legitimate concerns with the bill, demanding further study into the implications of Internet Service Provider (ISP) blockades. Leahy and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the chief sponsor of House bill SOPA, both agreed to remove the DNS requirement from the current versions of their respective bills. And on Saturday the Obama administration expressed opposition to the DNS requirement and other provisions, though it hedged by making the statement on a weekend, which is traditionally a wasteland for news.
Wikipedia provides users with information as to when it announced the blackout (yesterday, January 16th) and what precipitated the maneuver. The blackout will last 24 hours, worldwide, beginning “05:00 UTC on Wednesday, January 18.”
The site notes that “the blackout is a protest against proposed legislation in the United States — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate — that, if passed, would seriously damage the free and open Internet, including Wikipedia.” Users are also encouraged to read the Wikimedia Foundation’s statement on the historic decision to black out service.
On January 16th, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tweeted, “This is going to be wow. I hope Wikipedia will melt phone systems in Washington on Wednesday. Tell everyone you know!”
Boing Boing’s Corey Doctorow stated, “If you want an Internet where human rights, free speech and the rule of law are not subordinated to the entertainment industry’s profits, I hope you’ll join us.”
Doctorow, however, does not share the point-of-view that piracy may be wrong but SOPA and PIPA are the wrong way to fight it, stating:
SOPA and PIPA, subject of vigorous reporting and criticism here at Death and Taxes, was crafted to allow private entities or copyright holders, namely the entertainment industry, to petition the government to have any foreign site suspected of online piracy blockaded at the Domain Name System (DNS) level as well as financially through payment systems, and all without due process. Though online piracy is certainly problematic, the blockade of sites such as Tor (which enables anonymous activism and whistleblowing) and The Pirate Bay reeked of the tactics regularly used in totalitarian regimes such as China, Iran and Syria.
Last week, the chief sponsor of Protect IP Act (PIPA), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), admitted that there were legitimate concerns with the bill, demanding further study into the implications of Internet Service Provider (ISP) blockades. Leahy and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the chief sponsor of House bill SOPA, both agreed to remove the DNS requirement from the current versions of their respective bills. And on Saturday the Obama administration expressed opposition to the DNS requirement and other provisions, though it hedged by making the statement on a weekend, which is traditionally a wasteland for news.
Wikipedia provides users with information as to when it announced the blackout (yesterday, January 16th) and what precipitated the maneuver. The blackout will last 24 hours, worldwide, beginning “05:00 UTC on Wednesday, January 18.”
The site notes that “the blackout is a protest against proposed legislation in the United States — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate — that, if passed, would seriously damage the free and open Internet, including Wikipedia.” Users are also encouraged to read the Wikimedia Foundation’s statement on the historic decision to black out service.
On January 16th, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tweeted, “This is going to be wow. I hope Wikipedia will melt phone systems in Washington on Wednesday. Tell everyone you know!”
Boing Boing’s Corey Doctorow stated, “If you want an Internet where human rights, free speech and the rule of law are not subordinated to the entertainment industry’s profits, I hope you’ll join us.”
Doctorow, however, does not share the point-of-view that piracy may be wrong but SOPA and PIPA are the wrong way to fight it, stating:
Comments
[-(
blue turbins
From Those Fishes - I Fingered An Old Bitch (i got Aids on my finger)
Edit: Nevermind I guess it was announced today. I guess I've just seen it a shit ton today.
People would revolt.