I guess I’m coming late to the party: I just found out today about the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) blackout. Where have I been, you might ask? I’ve been everywhere I usually go online lately, I just somehow missed it. But now I’m on board.
Well, I’m not turning my blog or website dark, partly because I don’t know how to do it and partly because I think that sort of statement is much stronger coming from powerhouse sites like Google and Wikipedia. Little writers like me, I think, should just keep on writing, because to stop doing what we do in order to make a point runs counter to the battle cry for anti-censorship. For instance, I’m happy that Twitter has kept on tweeting, because, frankly, that’s how I found out about the planned blackout in the first place. I’m not sure shutting down the internet for a day does anyone any good, and while I get that the whole point of the demostration is to prove that fact, I suspect the people who need to learn the lesson aren’t going to learn it in a day.
Then again, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they can learn the lesson. I’m excited to see how much buzz and action is being generated online around this issue. I’m sure the blackout helps draw attention to these bills, so I’m glad that more and more sites and individuals are jumping on the bandwagon and voicing their perspectives. I hope it succeeds in getting Congress to block the bills! I also hope this kind of massive action can be replicated in the future around other important issues that affect all of us.
If you’re like me and are just learning about this issue and want to know more about SOPA, PIPA and the blackout, watch this video:
http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/
And/or read these sites:
http://americancensorship.org/
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopa