Wikipedia to go dark Wednesday in protest against SOPA, PIPA

By Yamiche Alcindor
USA Today

Joining the protest against two proposed federal Internet regulation bills, Wikipedia’s English-language site will be blacked out for all of Wednesday, co-founder Jimmy Wales announced on Twitter today.

Beginning at midnight ET on Jan. 18, visitors will see a protest message for 24 hours, Wales tweeted. The move will affect 30 million to 40 million users, he said, correcting an initial figure of 100 million.

“This is going to be wow,” read one of his tweets.

Wikipedia and several other sites are calling on lawmakers to block the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). They are concerned the laws will “hold website owners liable for links to sources of illegal music and movie downloading, with a detrimental effect on free speech online,” The Financial Times reports.

Reddit and the Cheezburger network, which includes such sites as The Daily What and Fail Blog, also plan to shut down to protest SOPA, The Washington Post reports. The document service Scribd already made a billion pages vanish in protest, the Post says.

Craigslist posted a message to all its users explaining it and other websites’ opposition to the bills.

Meanwhile, Wales tweeted this: “Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday! #sopa”

On Saturday, the White House urged that SOPA be vetoed and spelled out what it would support in anti-piracy legislation. The House leaders then said they would shelve the SOPA bill until a “consensus” could be reached, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Sunday he hoped to “move forward” with a PIPA amendment when lawmakers return from recess, The Hillsays.

ProPublica has compiled a database showing how members of Congress are lining up on the two bills.

Source

0 comments

Comments:

Add your comment

Nickname:

E-mail:

Website:

Comment:

Other articlesgo to homepage

	Feds need more time to indict Boston bombing suspect(0) By DENISE LAVOIE Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev won’t be indicted within the 30-day period prescribed under the Federal Speedy Trial Act but prosecutors said Friday they would ask for more time. Sunday marks 30 days since Tsarnaev was arrested following the April 15 twin bombing that killed three people and injured more than

	Obama’s media shield law makes prosecuting journalists even easier(0) United States President Barack Obama is encouraging Congress to take up a media shield law that was abandoned at the start of his administration, but critics of the bill say it might make it even easier for journalists to be subpoenaed by the government. After the Associated Press revealed on Monday that they are the

	Marijuana may now fight diabetes, researchers say(0) The magical weed that helps us stay trim, be less crazy, control seizures, cure Crohn’s, rescue the economy and make watching TV game shows more enjoyable is now being credited for possibly reducing the risk of diabetes, too. Analyzing statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ”National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,” researchers uncovered

	Boston Bombing Suspect Left a Note In The Boat?(0) (‘Note’ could have been faked) Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left a note claiming responsibility for the April 15 attack on the Boston Marathon, reports CBS News senior correspondent John Miller. Sources tell Miller that Tsarnaev wrote the note in the boat he was hiding in as police pursued him, and as he bled from

	Washington DC considers $250k insurance for gun owners(0) Washington, D.C. already has some of the strictest gun-control laws in the country, but the city council is considering a bill that would require prospective gun owners to purchase a $250,000 liability insurance policy. The proposed bill, B20-170, would mandate insurance coverage for negligent and intentional acts in which a gun is used in cases

Contacts and information

USAHM News has been censored twice before.. We provide citizens with alternative news that the MSM doesnt cover.. Dont become brainwashed by all the lies and propaganda! Join the fight against the NWO.. Contact us if you would like to become a writer for our website. Remember if you dont stand up for your rights, who will?