The Wikipedia community has decided to blackout the English version of Wikipedia for 24 hours on January 18th in protest of proposed legislation — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate.
This legislation, if passed, will harm the free and open Internet. These bills endanger free speech both in the United States and abroad, potentially setting a frightening precedent of Internet censorship for the world. If you are in the U.S. visit this page, enter your zip code, and take action.
Talking Points edit
- On January 18, 2012 the English Wikipedia protested SOPA/PIPA with a global Wikipedia blackout. Readers who come to Wikipedia saw a message from Wikipedia about SOPA/PIPA and urging them to contact their Representatives or Senators to act. This protest lasted 24hrs - from midnight to midnight EST (05:00 UTC Wed to 05:00 UTC Thu).
- This decision was made by Wikipedia’s global community. Although the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, opposes SOPA and PIPA, the decision was made by the community and that decision is now being implemented.
- SOPA/PIPA are still real threats to the free, open, and secure web. Although recent media reports have suggested that the bills are losing support, they are not dead. On January 17th, SOPA's sponsor said the bill will be discussed and pushed forward in early February. PIPA could be debated in the U.S. Senate as soon as next week. There is a need to send a strong message that bills like SOPA and PIPA should not be allowed. Legislatures must understand that they must involve the internet industry in the law-making process to ensure innovation and protection of free expression.
- Although the bills have changed, they are still a real threat to the free, open, and secure web. Among other serious problems in the current draft of the bills, the requirement exists for US-based sites to actively police links to purported infringing sites. These kinds of self-policing activities are non-sustainable for large, global projects - including possibly projects like Wikipedia. The legislative language is ambiguous and overly broad, even though it touches on protected speech. Our community is incredibly vigilant and proactive in keeping Wikipedia free of links or content that may infringe copyright.
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