The Wikipedia Blackout

We're thinking ... maximising your online business investment

Jimmy Wales the founder of Wikipeda and a staunch proponent of net neutrality and freedom of speech took the remarkable step of taking down the Wikipedia website for 24 hours in protest against the anti-piracy legislation. If you still doubt how serious a matter Wikipedia think this legslation to be, then consider the title on their web site "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge". Wales expects an estimated 100 million visitors to be affected by a Wikipedia black out.

Many websites have also spoken about how negatively the proposed legislation would make their businesses difficult or impossiable. Here are some comments i've taken from a number of the supporting websites:

• googleblog.blogspot.com/ - Don't censor the web. You might notice many of your favorite websites look different today. Wikipedia is down. WordPress is dark. We're censoring our homepage logo and asking you to petition Congress. So what's the big deal? ... ... Because we think there's a good way forward that doesn't cause collateral damage to the web, we're joining Wikipedia, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Mozilla and other Internet companies in speaking out against SOPA and PIPA. And we're asking you to sign a petition and join the millions who have already reached out to Congress through phone calls, letters and petitions asking them to rethink SOPA and PIPA.Posted by David Drummond, SVP Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer
• reddit.com //  Dear reddit, Today, for 12 hours, reddit.com goes dark to raise awareness of two bills in congress: H.R.3261 "Stop Online Piracy Act" and S.968 "PROTECT IP", which could radically change the landscape of the Internet. These bills provide overly broad mechanisms for enforcement of copyright which would restrict innovation and threaten the existence of websites with user-submitted content, such as reddit.
• wordpress.org - Many websites are blacked out today to protest proposed U.S. legislation that threatens internet freedom: the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). From personal blogs to Wikipedia, sites all over the web — including this one — are asking you to help stop this dangerous legislation from being passed. Please watch the video below to learn how this legislation will affect internet freedom, then scroll down to take action.
• http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox - Today Mozilla joins with other sites in a virtual strike to protest two proposed laws in the United States, called SOPA and the PROTECT IP Act. On January 24th, the U.S. Senate will vote on thePROTECT IP Act to censor the Internet, despite opposition from the vast majority of Americans. Join us to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity.
• http://newyork.craigslist.org/ STOP PIPA (Senate 968) & SOPA (HR 3261). Imagine a world without craigslist, Wikipedia, Google, [your favorite sites here]... News Corp, RIAA, MPAA, Nike, Sony, Comcast, VISA & others want to make that world your reality. 80 Members of Congress are in their sway, 30 against, the rest undecided or undeclared. ? ? ? Please take a minute to tell your Members of Congress you OPPOSE PIPA & SOPA ? ? ? CLICK HERE for MORE INFO & EASY ACTION ITEMS PS: corporate paymasters, KEEP THOSE CLAMMY HANDS OFF THE INTERNET!
• See a list of more companies: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/community/ 

The Huffington post reports that 7k sites are taking part in the blackout.

This clip gives you a good overview of what the legalisation is about, it also describes how crippling it would be to current and new online businesses, and even individuals.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Despite the fact that this all about USA based legalisation this is something we should all be aware and concerned about. After all what happens in the US is often followed else where

A final, amusing thought ... no one is above the law ... it seems US Congressman Lamar Smith and author behing Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is actually infringing images on his own website, and he's not the only one, read about other violations.

Links:

• static.googleusercontent.com - Congress can you hear us, Google
• en.wikipedia.org -  Wikipedia: SOPA initiative Learn_more
• dailymail.co.uk - Wikipedia blackout Google change homepage refuses dark SOPA protest
• techcrunch.com - Yes, Google Will Protest SOPA on its Homepage
• craigslist.org/about/SOPA - Corporate supporters of Senate 968 (PIPA) and HR 3261 (SOPA) demand the ability to take down any web site (including craigslist, Wikipedia, or Google) that hurts their profits -- without prior judicial oversight or due process -- in the name of combating "online piracy."
• bbc.co.uk - Wikipedia joins blackout protest at US anti-piracy moves
• huffingtonpost.com - Wikipedia Blackout: 11 Huge Sites Protest SOPA, PIPA On January 18 ... 7,000 websites take part in the blackout