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Permalink Reply by The Shiznit on January 7, 2012 at 6:24pm

FOX News - Will Google, Amazon, and Facebook Black Out the Net?

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InfoWorld - Lawmakers Seem Intent on Approving SOPA & PIPA

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How the US Pressured Spain to Adopt Unpopular Web-Blocking Law

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Permalink Reply by Bart Skraeling on January 8, 2012 at 2:43pm

does sopa make it possible to block out youtube because some user have posted copyrighted material?

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Permalink Reply by Aaron on January 9, 2012 at 4:33pm

Thank you for this. Especially the video posted, how SOPA might just be a way to incite internet firms to do bribery, was very eye-opening. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by JD on January 10, 2012 at 4:39pm

This is an interesting post....  

I think that a news analysis in the information technology magazine eWeek summed it up nicely by stating, “The language of SOPA is so broad, the rules so unconnected to the reality of Internet technology and the penalties so disconnected from the alleged crimes that this bill could effectively kill e-commerce or even normal Internet use. The bill also has grave implications for existing U.S., foreign and international laws and is sure to spend decades in court challenges.”

I would be a bit surprised (but pleased) if these big businesses actually took the day off.  And the reason I would be surprised is because of the huge monetary losses. But without the knowledge of what's behind this blackout, I think I would be hugely pissed.  I think many unaware folks are going to be very angry if they couldn't check their FB or Google something.  And hopefully, they would target their anger toward the politicians backing SOPA.  (It's not that most folks are promoting online piracy....  it's just that this proposed bill is not the answer.) 

And what will be the world-wide effect?  Now that's gonna be some pressure!  (If these big internet businesses shut down globally....) 

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Permalink Reply by James Lescrauwaet on January 13, 2012 at 6:24pm

The regular internet user will feel the power of these company's!

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Permalink Reply by Lore on January 13, 2012 at 9:15pm

Great post shiz. I already sent some e-mails to my reps in opposition to SOPA. So do they have any dates for this or are they just threatening at this point?

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Permalink Reply by Johannes on January 15, 2012 at 1:18pm

America.. you can buy weapons... but it's dangerous to download a song.. I don't understand the politics in that country..

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Permalink Reply by Bernhard on January 15, 2012 at 2:44pm

Other sites are joining the protest! Very cool. I like the way Razer did it.

Team Razer and Team Red 5 stand together in protest against SOPA at CES 2012.

JOIN US IN OUR PROTEST AGAINST SOPA AND SHARE THIS POST.

Now that we’ve got your attention, we want to draw your attention to a threat that threatens the very core of the gaming community.
The “Stop Online Piracy Act”, aka SOPA, is a proposed bill in the United States Congress that, if enacted, would effectively end the internet as we know it. In a ham-fisted attempt to combat piracy, Congress has opted for the “Nuke from Orbit” approach, hurting both the community from whom they benefit and developers they seek to protect. We cannot allow this to happen.

If this is the first you are hearing of SOPA, take a moment to read the bill itself ( http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/112%20HR%203261.pdf ) by visiting the Electronic Frontier Foundation ( https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/10/sopa-hollywood-finally-gets-chance-break-internet ) for more information.

Allow us to stress, Razer does not condone piracy in any way. We feel it damages the industry and we will stand against anything that hurts either the gaming community or the developers. However, we firmly believe that SOPA is the absolute wrong way to combat this problem and we are not alone in thinking this. Other gaming companies like Red 5, Riot Games and Mojang stand with us in opposition. However, this bill does not only affect software and game developers and we hope our actions will lead other gaming hardware vendors to join our protest against SOPA.

So please join us in a day of protest. We will be taking down our site for one day, January 18th, to give you taste of what the future may hold if we fail to put an end to SOPA and similar ill-conceived legislation. In its place, we will upload the image above as a placeholder for our site. While this may have an impact on our business, we believe this is a small price to pay to show how the Internet could become if this bill was to be supported.

For Gamers. By Gamers. It is not just a motto, it is our way of life. We work hard to do right by our community. We’ll be damned if we’re going to let an attack like this go unanswered.

-Team Razer

*We apologize in advance to anyone offended by the image but it sums up our perspective to this draconian bill.

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Permalink Reply by The Shiznit on January 15, 2012 at 3:20pm

Wow.  The 18th eh?  

I couldn't find anything about Google & Facebook joining in with this particular blackout; but it looks like the choice for the date was initially made by Reddit, and that Wikipedia is probably going to participate. 

"Taking the lead with this newly acquired power is Reddit. The site announced Tuesday that it would no longer stand by as the “freedom, innovation, and economic opportunity that the Internet enables is in jeopardy.” To send its message of disapproval, the site will be blacking out on January 18^th from 8am to 8pm, Eastern Time.

“Instead of the normal glorious, user-curated chaos of reddit, we will be displaying a simple message about how the PIPA/SOPA legislation would shut down sites like reddit, link to learn more, and suggest ways to take action,” a Reddit blog post announced.

"As a result, other sites opposed to SOPA and PIPA are beginning to consider joining whatTIME has dubbed the Great Internet Strike of 2012.

"Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has expressed his interest in coordinating a Wikipedia blackout at the same time. Although it has been rumored that Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo, PayPal, Amazon and even Google are discussing a collective blackout, nothing definitive has been offered by the sites themselves. Nevertheless, the very idea of an Internet without Google or social media has already sparked discussion about the impact a day without the Internet’s most popular sites would have."

http://blog.experts-exchange.com/ee-tech-news/sopa-update-blackouts...

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Permalink Reply by Bernhard on January 16, 2012 at 2:58pm

Obama Opposes SOPA of the Day: In a coup for people who enjoy the Internet, the Obama administration has thrown its considerable weight into the debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act, and its congressional sibling, the Protect IP Act.

This morning, a post on the White House’s blog denounced the censorship inherent in the bills, and warned against their potentially devastating effects on the infrastructure of the web.

http://geeks.thedailywh.at/2012/01/14/obama-opposes-sopa-of-the-day/

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Permalink Reply by Bernhard on January 17, 2012 at 9:58am

SOPA IS DEAD!

In a surprise move today, Representative Eric Cantor(R-VA) announced that he will stop all action on SOPA, effectively killing the bill. This move was most likely due to several things. One of those things is that SOPA and PIPA met huge online protest against the bills. Another reason would be that the White House threatened to veto the bill if it had passed. However, it isn't quite time yet to celebrate, as PIPA(the Senate's version of SOPA) is still up for consideration.

Continue reading on Examiner.com House Kills SOPA - Denver Computers | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/computers-in-denver/house-kills-sopa#ixzz1j...

AWESOME! Now on to PIPA! Down with PIPA! :D

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Permalink Reply by Bernhard on January 17, 2012 at 11:06am

Correction, to prevent misunderstandings: Dead for now. They will surely revive it with a different title and slighty different wording. Still - a success!

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