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YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Wikipedia may black out Wednesday in protest

    By SARAH SKIDMORE | Associated Press – Mon, Jan 16, 2012

    Wikipedia may black out its website Wednesday to protest anti-piracy legislation under consideration in Congress.

    Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales announced on Twitter Monday that the popular community-based online encyclopedia will shut down its English versions for 24 hours in protest. Users of the site have discussed for more than a month whether it should react to the legislation and in the past few days, tried to decide how.

    The foundation behind the site, Wikimedia, says it is still collecting input from users and expects to make its final decision later Monday evening on the details of the protest based on that feedback. However, a large-scale blackout is expected at this time.

    "We are looking at a powerful protest," said Jay Walsh, spokesman for the foundation.

    The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act pending in Congress are designed to crack down on sales of pirated U.S. products overseas.

    Supporters say the legislation is needed to protect intellectual property and jobs. Critics say the legislation could hurt the technology industry and infringe on free-speech rights.

    Tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo and others have questioned the legislation and said it poses a serious risk to the industry. Several online communities such as Reddit, Boing Boing and others have announced plans to go dark in protest.

    Wikipedia is considering several different forms of response, from a banner across the top of the page to a black out in certain areas, up to a worldwide shutdown, Walsh said. If Wikipedia opts to black out, it would be the largest and most well-known website to do so.

    "It's not a muscle that is normally flexed," Walsh said.

    The Obama administration has also raised concerns about the legislation and said over the weekend that it will work with Congress on legislation to help battle piracy and counterfeiting while defending free expression, privacy, security and innovation in the Internet.

     
    • Samantha Perry
      Samantha Perry  •  4 mths ago
      The strange thing is, many of the people in Congress arguing over SOPA and PIPA are old men who readily admit to not knowing a darn thing about the Internet...

      "Well, I haven't got any idea how open-heart surgery works, but if I must..."
      • Snappy
        Snappy 4 mths ago
        That is because it isn't coming out of their bank account,it will be funneling money into their account from the lobbyists...so therefore the interest in this bill.
      • Big Jones
        Big Jones 4 mths ago
        Yes, but they know when those big campaign finance checks (legal bribes) come in from lobbyists.
    • Jason
      Jason  •  4 mths ago
      The Patriot Act started out to protect us from Terrorism. Big Brother is here and he likes what he sees.
      • Rc
        Rc 4 mths ago
        The Patriot Act had nothing to do with terrorism. It was already written before 9/11.
    • EvilDoersRUs
      EvilDoersRUs  •  4 mths ago
      "The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act pending in Congress are designed to crack down on sales of pirated U.S. products overseas."
      God, I hope I hear a VERY LOUD POP as Congress pulls its collective head out of its butt and votes down this affront to personal liberty and legitimate internet business. It will allows web sites to be arbitrarily shut down over the unsubstantiated whining of big business. Yes, it poses a serious risk to legitimate business. Have a blog? Are you monitoring each and every link that gets posted to it? If it links to something that someone claims as intellectual property, you could be shut down.
      • Phil s
        Phil s 4 mths ago
        Simple.....don't steal. Stealing isn't an inalienable right of expression.
      • Fenir
        Fenir 4 mths ago
        To Phil S, these bills would affect more than people who commit piracy. Read the bills in full, and then read about the affect it would have on different industries.
      • Zoey
        Zoey 4 mths ago
        Even IF the blog holder, does NOT steal, Phil. Those who blog, on their site, do, and WILL post it. And, the owner of said site, can get into trouble for it, even if they did NOT post it, and even IF they keep a close eye on their site, at all times!
    • niwdog
      niwdog  •  4 mths ago
      Another example of loss of freedoms. This time it is freedom of speech that used to be guaranteed by the Constitution.
    • Ernie
      Ernie  •  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  •  4 mths ago
      i would settle for getting yahoo to stop loading my pc up with junk cookies and spyware
      • Tom
        Tom 4 mths ago
        Use Firefox and an ad blocker.
      • Yahoo Editor
        Yahoo Editor 4 mths ago
        You don't know the half of what we put on your computer... or take off of it.

        Now go along and play
      • Zoey
        Zoey 4 mths ago
        They put a lot of crap, into your computer. Along with many OTHER sites!
    • M E
      M E  •  4 mths ago
      A discussion that will effect all of America, should be decided by all of America, and not by the sellouts in Washington. It is time America becomes a real democracy!
      • matt
        matt 4 mths ago
        national referendums could be a lot of fun, certainly give more control of what happens in government (something that has been slowly pried from the hands of the masses over several decades) to the general public. We didn't have the internet when the present system of elected representatives was devised. There's the opportunity for much greater direct participation of the public in what happens in all levels of government.
        if Washington was required to put even a fraction of the legislation they pass to the test of public ratification, they wouldn't get anywhere near the amount of garbage through that they do now.
    • My Two Cents
      My Two Cents  •  4 mths ago
      Anti-piracy legislation is jargon which will translate into American citizens getting stuck with the bill.
    • Snappy
      Snappy  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  4 mths ago
      When are we going to address the issue of the politicians who have Pirated our Economy and our Country!
    • Diggler
      Diggler  •  Seattle, Washington  •  4 mths ago
      These types of bills are just an excuse for the busybodies in congress to invade privacy and overturn individual rights. We all know piracy, international or otherwise, will continue no matter what they do.
    • greene_teeth
      greene_teeth  •  Chattanooga, Tennessee  •  4 mths ago
      Facebook has all kinds of problems. Wikipedia knows what they should do and whatever they decide to do (as long as it still makes some kind of sense) I will support Wikipedia. The founders are trying very hard to keep this vision going in the right direction.
    • CZ
      CZ  •  4 mths ago
      People need to contact Washington on this matter.
      This bill will completely censor the way the internet is operated today. They will be able to shut down any site without due cause. This includes places where information is posted such as Craigslist, Youtube, and even the Social Networking sites.
      I would suggest that everyone look up number of their representative in Congress. Take just a couple of minutes to call them and let them know how you feel.

      I will be calling mine the first thing in the morning.
    • Darius03
      Darius03  •  4 mths ago
      I hope Congress will be shut down..period.
    • aintnobodysbusiness
      aintnobodysbusiness  •  4 mths ago
      SOPA is opposed by craigslist as well - it is a terrible law so naturally it's being pushed by the gops.
    • oldman
      oldman  •  4 mths ago
      Hope it does some good. For you less read types, be aware YouTube will be one of the first sites going down under this legislation.
    • Bob Ranger
      Bob Ranger  •  Cocoa Beach, Florida  •  4 mths ago
      This is not about piracy, it's about the government telling you what you can and cannot do on the most effective tool for free speech ever created. China does this on a regular bases. Obama fears free speech. It must end. Today they will wrap it in the guise of piracy, tomorrow it will be about public safety, then hate speech, then just because.
    • Dash
      Dash  •  4 mths ago
      Anti-piracy is cool, but not when you have to forfeit free speech and freedom of expression. Two wrongs don't make a right.
    • yat singl
      yat singl  •  Buenos Aires, Argentina  •  4 mths ago
      Congressmen conspire to fool people's brains and to cover people's eyes.again .
    • Jason
      Jason  •  4 mths ago
      How exactly is preventing the piracy of copyrighted material and intellectual property taking away someone's freedom of speech? If you want to use someone else's copyrighted material to express yourself you can do so by going through the proper channels. If you had copyrighted material you wouldn't want somebody using it without your permission, otherwise you wouldn't have gone through the trouble to get it copyrighted. To those of you who are saying that legitimate websites will be affcted, if they are truly legitimate websites they should know how to obtain the use of copyrighted material legally. To those who say that bloggers will be affected because they cannot control what other people post on their website, if someone feels the need to create a blog or website and allow others to post on it they should be prepared to be able to monitor what is posted and remove anything that is posted illegally. Too many people in America take "freedom of speech' out of context. Our forefathers wanted us to have freedom of speech to express our opinions without fear of being persecuted, it has nothing to do with using someone else's copyrighted material or using foul language on television or the radio like many people want to make it mean.
    • Pathdoc
      Pathdoc  •  4 mths ago
      TEN thumbs up for Wikipedia - it works to further mankind.
    • David44149
      David44149  •  4 mths ago
      What I want to see is the Library of Congress go dark in protest.
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