Tomorrow, some of the largest websites in the world – including Wikipedia, Reddit, and BoingBoing - will “Go Black.” Their content blocked to protest two bills – the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in Congress and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate. While the viewership of The-Dean.com is significantly lower, this website will join them.
SOPA and PIPA are laws designed to protect the rights of copyright holders. However, the laws are poorly structured. Tech-savvy pirates could easily circumvent the law while technology start-ups could be destroyed by the legislation. Companies against SOPA/PIPA include Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia.
Recent articles have stated that PIPA and SOPA are dead in the water. The White House has come out against the bills and creators of the legislation in the Senate say changes are needed. Still, it is important to let your elected officials know that these laws are not acceptable.
To find out more about SOPA/PIPA, check out the links below. Otherwise see where your member of congress stands on these bills and tell them to vote no.
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future.
So How Does this affect you? Read a FAQ by Cnet.
SOPA: Bad for the Internet, Bad for America
Dane101 will go dark to protest SOPA January 18
For Wisconsinites:
