by Lauren Kelley
December 31, 2011

from AlterNet Website

 

 


The debate over SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) has pitted Hollywood executives and the Republican-supported Chamber of Commerce against, well, basically everyone who enjoys the free and open internet, with critics saying that the legislation could lead to widespread internet censorship.

Among those critics are major websites like,

  • Facebook

  • Amazon

  • Google,

...which are considering imposing an internet "blackout" in protest of the bill.

 

The Daily Mail reports:

The battle over the SOPA bill has seen leading web firms square off against Hollywood media companies in a trade-off between internet freedom and intellectual property rights.

Now it could burst into the open as technology giants are planning to 'censoring' their own homepages, according to a leading internet lobby group.

Sites such as Google, Amazon and Facebook could temporarily replace their usual homepage with a black screen and a message asking users to contact politicians and urge them to oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act.

The move could come as early as January 24, when the bill is due to be debated in the House of Representatives.

One of the only major web companies to have supported SOPA is GoDaddy, which was shamed into reversing its support after throngs of customers (including heavy hitters like Wikipedia) moved their domain names elsewhere.



 

 

 

 




 



Top Web Firms Set to Impose a Blackout in Protest Against...

'Big Brother' Online Piracy Bill

by Hugo Gye

30 December 2011

from DailyMail Website

 

 

Popular Websites to Ask Users to Oppose The Stop Internet Piracy Act
Domain Name Company GoDaddy Reverses Its Support for SOPA After Mass Boycott


 

 


The world's most popular websites could impose an 'internet blackout' in protest at a proposed law which would extend government censorship in an effort to tackle online piracy.

The battle over the SOPA bill has seen leading web firms square off against Hollywood media companies in a trade-off between internet freedom and intellectual property rights.

Now it could burst into the open as technology giants are planning to 'censoring' their own homepages, according to a leading internet lobby group.
 

 

Blackout?

Sites including Google are planning drastic action

to protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act
 

 

Sites such as Google, Amazon and Facebook could temporarily replace their usual homepage with a black screen and a message asking users to contact politicians and urge them to oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act.

The move could come as early as January 24, when the bill is due to be debated in the House of Representatives.

Marham Erickson, head of NetCoalition, a body representing many of the world's biggest websites, said that the drastic action of a blackout was being contemplated.

'There have been some serious discussions about that,' he said, while pointing out that 'it has never happened before'.
 

Opposition

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia,

is one of many tech pioneers hoping to defeat SOPA
 

 

GoDaddy, the world's largest domain registration company, had been a rare example of a web firm which supported SOPA, but was today forced to reverse its position after thousands of users deserted it over its political stance.

A boycott campaign which involved giants such as Wikipedia as well as a network of individual users and small companies led to GoDaddy announcing today that was no longer in favor of the bill.

The firm's chief executive Warren Adelman said in a statement:

'GoDaddy opposes SOPA because the legislation has not fulfilled its basic requirement to build a consensus among stake-holders in the technology and Internet communities.'

The unorthodox campaigning methods used by opponents of SOPA are a response to their being heavily outspent by Hollywood firms.
 

 

Author

Representative Lamar Smith (R-Texas)

sponsor of the bill
 

 

Media companies are spending ten times as much as technology firms on lobbying in relation to SOPA, which they hope will crack down on copyright theft around the world by allowing the government to remove links to piracy websites from search engines and social networks.

And Hollywood, traditionally a Democratic stronghold, has teamed up with the Republican-supporting Chamber of Commerce in its efforts to push the bill - sponsored by Texas Representative Lamar Smith - through Congress.

Ranged against them are many of the tech world's most iconic figures, including Google's Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, and 'father of the internet' Vint Cerf.

SOPA's opponents fear that the bill will allow the government and corporations to pursue alleged offenders without having to establish proof that they are breaking the law.

 

 

 

 

 

TOO MUCH CONTROL?

THE BACKGROUND BEHIND SOPA

The Stop Online Piracy Act has pit internet giants, consumer groups and freedom of speech advocates against film studios and record labels.
The House bill would allow a private party to go straight to a website's advertising and payment providers and request they sever ties.
'Anyone with an axe to grind could send a notice without first involving law enforcement [or] judicial process,' Google's Katherine Oyama fumed.
But advocates of the legislation say current law leaves few options for copyright holders whose products end up on foreign websites.
The U.S. Justice Department could also request court orders to compel search engines and other sites to block domain names or search results.