Wikipedia Goes Black to Protest SOPA

Wikipedia and other websites have gone black to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, and Protect IP Act (PIPA). Other sites such as Google have drawn black banners over their logos in protest. 

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales announced Wednesday’s planned blackout of his website with a warning: Students, do your homework early!

Hundreds of other sites including Mozilla, WordPress and TwitPic, have gone dark or carry a protest message over their names today to rally support against SOPA and similar legislation.

They say the legislation, intended to crack down on online movie theft and music piracy, infringes on the “free and open Internet” and will introduce Internet censorship laws of other foreign countries.

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed, MLK. On Wednesday, Wikipedia demands," Wales said via Twitter on Monday, the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

The Wall Street Journal points out that even Craigslist in joining in the protest. Its classified ad sites have the following statement: 

STOP PIPA & SOPA, S968 & HR3261 are threatening CL and the rest of your Internet. Most of the web sites you use strongly oppose these bills. Find out why, and how you can help put a stop to this madness before it's too late!

However, not all websites are protesting the antipiracy act.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo called Wikipedia’s blackout “silly” and “foolish.”

According to supporters of the legislation, including The Motion Picture Assn. Of America, the law makes an effort to protect intellectual property.

Michael O’Leary, the executive leading the MPAA’s campaign for the bills, told the Los Angeles Times, the bills make an effort to preserve creative content, something, he says, websites have failed to do.

Internet operators Google Inc. and EBay Inc have also opposed the legislation, saying companies could block websites and endanger the freedom of the Web.

The Obama administration also has called for changes in the legislation. In a White House statement, it indicated it “will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.”

The campaign against SOPA appears to be gaining steam, and with the White House’s declaration it would oppose the bill, SOPA appears dead on arrival.

Still, SOPA could make a resurgence if bill supporters rewrite the bill to the White House’s unspecified suggested changes.