SOPA & PIPA Action Call Today

Today is a day to take action against SOPA and PIPA.  Wikipedia and other websites are blacking out their pages for 24 hours today to protest SOPA (Congress' proposal) and PIPA (the Senate's proposal).


Here is the message seen on WikiPedia a few days ago

"Today, the Wikipedia community announced its decision to black out the English-language Wikipedia for 24 hours, worldwide, beginning at 05:00 UTC on Wednesday, January 18 . The blackout is a protest against proposed legislation in the United States — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate — that, if passed, would seriously damage the free and open Internet, including Wikipedia.

This will be the first time the English Wikipedia has ever staged a public protest of this nature, and it’s a decision that wasn’t lightly made."

Yes we should all be concerned about copyright and violation of copyright. But these proposed legislative acts are using censorship to try to achieve an end to copyright violations.  If the acts pass it will almost certainly mean an end to the Internet as we know it - the end of an exchange of free information.

Legitimate websites and site owners will suffer badly and may go under. Not because they are violating copyright but because of the draconian measures SOPA and PIPA want to put into place.

Many geneabloggers are blacking out their blogs today in protest. Olive Tree Genealogy has Guest Author posts and therefore will not be blacking out as I cannot make that decision for others who have posted articles here.  However I have filed my protest of SOPA as a Canadian at Stop American Censorship

I suggest reading a few of the many blog posts and website articles about SOPA, PIPA and today's call for blackout.

Web Goes on Strike! on SopaStrike

DM supports SOPA and PIPA protest by Dear Myrtle

Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge on Wikipedia

Today We Fight Back... by Reddit