Bad day if you're doing your homework! Wikipedia prepares to black out website for 24 hours on Wednesday in protest over online piracy bill
Blackout of English-version site expected from midnight EST on Tuesday until midnight on WednesdayFounder Jimmy Wales called the move an 'extraordinary action' against the endangerment of free speechExpected to affect 25million users
Wikipedia will black out its English-language website on Wednesday to protest against anti-piracy legislation under consideration in Congress.Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales announced the move on Twitter. It's part of a widespread protest campaign orchestrated via social sites such as Reddit - and other internet heavyweights such as browser company Mozilla are to join in. A link to the formal announcement confirmed the decision after 1,800 Wikipedians discussed what action to take against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECTIP (PIPA).
UP FOR DEBATE: THE BACKGROUND BEHIND SOPA & PIPA
The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act in Congress - are designed to crack down on sales of pirated U.S. products overseas - has pit internet giants, consumer groups and freedom of speech advocates against film studios and record labels. The House bill (SOPA) would allow a private party to go straight to a website's advertising and payment providers and request they sever ties. Supporters include the film and music industry, which often sees its products sold illegally. They say the legislation is needed to protect intellectual property and jobs. Critics say the legislation could hurt the technology industry and infringe on free-speech rights. Among their concerns are provisions that would weaken cyber-security for companies and hinder domain access rights. The most controversial provision is in the House bill, which would have enabled federal authorities to 'blacklist' sites that are alleged to distribute pirated content. That would essentially cut off portions of the Internet to all U.S. users. But congressional leaders appear to be backing off this provision.
The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act pending in Congress are designed to crack down on sales of pirated U.S. products overseas. Supporters say the legislation is needed to protect intellectual property and jobs. Critics say the legislation is too broad and could hurt the technology industry and infringe on free-speech rights. Wales said in a statement: 'Today Wikipedians from around the world have spoken about their opposition to this destructive legislation. 'This is an extraordinary action for our community to take - and while we regret having to prevent the world from having access to Wikipedia for even a second, we simply cannot ignore the fact that SOPA and PIPA endanger free speech both in the United States and abroad, and set a frightening precedent of Internet censorship for the world.' The foundation behind the site, Wikimedia, said it collected input from users over a period of 72 hours before making its final decision on Monday evening based on that feedback. 'This is by far the largest level of participation in a community discussion ever seen on Wikipedia, which illustrates the level of concern that Wikipedians feel about this proposed legislation,' a statement on the Wikimedia Foundation website reads.
WHO WILL BLACK OUT THEIR SITE ON WEDNESDAY?
Social news community Reddit has already announced that it will 'go dark' on Wednesday to protest against the bill.
High-profile blog BoingBoing has also announced that it will protest. Browser maker Mozilla has said that it also intends to protest by 'going dark' briefly and hosting anti-SOPA content, although copies of its Firefox browser will continue to work as normal. Comedy network Cheezburger (host of Failblog) also said it will join in. Several sites such as SopaStrike offer 'do it yourself' kits for smaller websites to 'go dark' in protest at SOPA. SopaStrike hosts a list of smaller sites that have said they will black out in protest. Not all sites that join the protest will 'switch off' entirely - some will host banners or turn the front page black instead. Both Google and Facebook have voiced opposition to the bill but neither has committed to any form of protest this week. Twitter will not join in - its CEO said that applying single-nation politics to a worldwide service was 'foolish’.’ The overwhelming majority of participants support community action to encourage greater public action in response to these two bills.' 'Of the proposals considered by Wikipedians, those that would result in a "blackout" of the English Wikipedia, in concert with similar blackouts on other websites opposed to SOPA and PIPA, received the strongest support.’ A large-scale blackout is expected from midnight Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday until midnight on Wednesday.’ We are looking at a powerful protest,' said Jay Walsh, spokesman for the foundation.Tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo and others have also questioned the legislation and said it poses a serious risk to the industry. Several online communities such as Reddit, Boing Boing and others have announced plans to go blackout in protest.Wikipedia is considering several different forms of response, from a banner across the top of the page to a blackout in certain areas, up to a worldwide shutdown, said Mr Walsh. If Wikipedia opts for a blackout, it would be the largest and most well-known website to do so.’ It’s not a muscle that is normally flexed,' added Mr Walsh.As the Washington Post reports, Mr Wales expects an estimated 25million daily visitors to be affected by a Wikipedia blackout. The Obama administration has also raised concerns about the legislation. The administration said over the weekend that it will work with Congress on legislation to help battle piracy and counterfeiting while defending free expression, privacy, security and innovation in the Internet.
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