This will hugely effect how we educate the masses!
Including how I will be able to share info on my blog!
At midnight tonight, Wikipedia will go black in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), two anti-piracy bills that have Internet companies up in arms over the future of the medium.
The bills, meant to chasten overseas torrent sites like The Pirate Bay into compliance, have many concerned that it might open the door to future Internet censorship and abuse. Last month, founders at top tech firms like Google, Twitter, Yahoo, and eBay joined together to express their misgivings about the broadly written legislation.
Wikipedia is the largest site yet to take part in the January 18 protest, joining Reddit and the popular Cheezburger network in the plan to go off-line.
"We've all had the good fortune to found Internet companies and nonprofits in a regulatory climate that promotes entrepreneurship, innovation, the creation of content and free expression online," they wrote in an open letter of opposition. "However, we're worried that the PROTECT IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act—which started out as well-meaning efforts to control piracy online—will undermine that framework."
Wikipedia is the largest site yet to take part in the January 18 protest, joining Reddit and the popular Cheezburger network in the plan to go off-line. Mozilla, maker of popular Internet browser Firefox, launched their own campaign in the fall, and nonprofit Fight for the Future has an online petition that supporters can sign and send to their congressperson.
Although microblogging site Twitter signed last month's letter of opposition, CEO Dick Costolo said over the weekend that the site would not be joining the blackout. "That's just silly. Closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish," tweeted Costolo after a journalist asked whether Twitter, Facebook, or Google would have the "cojones" to go dark tomorrow.
