If you're in the US: Take action and tell your elected officials you oppose SOPA/PIPA
WE NEED YOU TO PROTECT FREE SPEECH ONLINE
The Wikipedia community has authorized a blackout of the English version of Wikipedia for 24 hours on January 18th in protest of proposed legislation — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECTIP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate — that, if passed, will harm the free, secure, and open Internet. These bills endanger free speech both in the United States and abroad, setting a frightening precedent of Internet censorship for the world.
But you don't have to wait until the 18th to voice your concerns!
(If you have any problems with the link above, click here)
TALKING POINTS YOU MAY WANT TO USE ON THE PHONE
Intoduction
"As one of your concerned constituents, I urge you to oppose SOPA and PIPA or any future bill that would censor free speech and damage the security of the Internet."
Regarding Censorship
“The Internet has become an important communications tool allowing the free flow of ideas. As introduced in the House and the Senate, SOPA and PIPA would give the Justice Department and courts tremendous power to shut down entire sites. These bills ignore the principles of the First Amendment that require tailored solutions in lieu of across-the-board censorship. Unfortunately these bills represent terrible precedents for the United States and the world.”
Regarding Cybersecurity
“A safe and secure Web is vital to our privacy, our access to free knowledge, and to commerce. Hundreds of established authorities on the Internet believe that the required blocking of Internet sites in SOPA and PIPA is badly thought out and threatens Internet security.”
[edit]Blackout your own website on January 18
Visit http://sopablackout.org/ to get JavaScript code and a WordPress plugin that you can use to stage a blackout protest on your own site.
[edit]Spread the word on social networks
We strongly encourage you to spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Digg, identi.ca, Diaspora, and other social media. We recommend using the hashtag #wikipediablackout.
[edit]For more information, click on the links below
Blog post from Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director, Sue Gardner:
Official Wikimedia Foundation Press Release:
Statement From the Community Affirming Blackout
Electronic Frontier Foundation blog post on the lingering faults in SOPA/PIPA
Pro Publica Has Detailed SOPA Supporters and Opponents
[edit]Questions and answers
Talking points
- On January 18, 2012 (this Wednesday) the English Wikipedia will be protesting SOPA/PIPA with a global Wikipedia blackout. Readers who come to Wikipedia will see a message from Wikipedia about SOPA/PIPA and urging them to contact their Representatives or Senators to act. This protest will last 24hrs - from midnight to midnight EST.
- This decision was made by Wikipedia’s global community. Although the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, opposes SOPA and PIPA, the decision was made by the community and that decision that is now being implemented.
- SOPA/PIPA are still real threats to the free, open, and secure web. Although recent media reports have suggested that the bills are losing support, some of the public statements actually seem to only indicate a tactical retreat on SOPA. PIPA remains extremely active. There’s no indication that the bills have been completely withdrawn. In any case, there is a need to send a strong message that bills like SOPA and PIPA should not be allowed. Legislatures must understand that they must involve the internet industry in the law-making process to ensure innovation and and protection of free expression.
- Although the bills have changed, they are still a real threat to the free, open, and secure web. Among other serious problems in the current draft of the bills, the requirement exists for US-based sites to actively police links to purported infringing sites. These kinds of self-policing activities are non-sustainable for large, global projects - including possibly projects like Wikipedia. The legislative language is ambiguous and overly broad, even though it touches on protected speech. Our community is incredibly vigilant and proactive in keeping Wikipedia free of links or content that may infringe copyright.
What exactly is Wikipedia doing?
On January 18, 2012 the English Wikipedia community will be protesting SOPA/PIPA with a global Wikipedia blackout. Readers who come to Wikipedia will see a message from Wikipedia about SOPA/PIPA that tells them to contact their Representatives or Senators to act. This protest will last 24hrs - from midnight to midnight EST.
Why is this happening?
Our English Wikipedia community is opposed to SOPA/PIPA. In an unprecedented decision, the Wikipedia community has chosen to blackout the English version of Wikipedia for 24 hours, in protest against proposed legislation in the United States — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and PROTECTIP (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate. If passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and bring about new tools for censorship of international websites inside the United States.
Wikipedia can only exist in an open, secure, and uncensored Internet. SOPA, PIPA, or any future legislation that censors free speech, damages Internet security, or inhibits innovation will hurt and undermine the Internet and the work of our community.
Isn't SOPA dead? Wasn't the bill shelved and didn't the White House declare that it won't sign anything that resembles the current bill?
We have no information that SOPA/PIPA are actually dead. In fact, there are strong signs that PIPA may be debated before the Senate floor next week. SOPA appears to be only in a tactical retreat. As long as we see the threat of SOPA/PIPA on the horizon, we're going to carry out this protest and send a message that any proposed legislation of this kind that attacks the free and open web isn't welcome.
Aren’t SOPA/PIPA as they stand not even really a threat to Wikipedia? DNS provisions will be removed?
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a great post about this here. SOPA/PIPA are still alive, and they’re still a threat to the free and open web. Even with the DNS provisions removed, the bill would give the US government extraordinary powers to take control over content and information on the free web. In its current form the bill would also require US websites to take on the duty of actively policing links for infringing content. There's more to it than that - taking one provision out doesn't make the bill okay - it's all still terrible for the free and open web.
What about OPEN?
The Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act is another piece of legislation that is different from SOPA, and we're looking at it, but SOPA/PIPA are the current focus.
Did the Italian Wikipedia’s protest action last year achieve its goal of stopping the Italian law in question?
It seems likely that the efforts of the Italian Wikipedia community around a similar Internet censorship bill compelled the Italian Parliament to withdraw consideration of the bill. This gives us some context on the thinking around SOPA and PIPA of course. Virtually everyone in the Wikipedia community is aware of that effort.
How does SOPA/PIPA hurt Wikipedia though?
Under SOPA/PIPA, Wikipedia could suffer in several ways. One is that editors would likely lose access to important sources of information around the world. The goal of SOPA and PIPA is to take down entire sites (not just the infringing content on those sites), even if parts of the site host non-infringing material. Wikipedia may be required to remove content or an entire article from view, even if the source supporting the content and article links to non-infringing information or media. The legislative language is sloppy and could be read broadly to put policing burdens on our staff and community. Finally, SOPA/PIPA represent dangerous precedent, around which Congress can later wrap more legislations and restrictions of the internet, which could hurt Wikipedia further. The Internet does need solutions to deal with online piracy, but the current forms of the SOPA and PIPA bills are not it. Please reject them, and tell Congress to write something that makes better sense.
Do you think US voters will respond to this action?
The focus of the message on the Wikipedia blackout page will be action-oriented, with strong encouragement that US citizens reading the message get in touch with their representatives and voice their displeasure over SOPA and PIPA. This effort is newsworthy to the US and global press, and it’s very significant because it will expand the story beyond tech and media insiders to a wider public audience. Many up to this point have not heard much about the issue.
What is the significance of acting in concert with other major sites? Will this really produce a politically effective message beyond acting in isolation?
The Wikipedia community has chosen January 18th because that was the date the U.S. House of Representatives had contemplated hearings around SOPA. Though the hearings have been rescheduled, likely due to the increased public attention around the issue, the threat of the legislation moving forward continues. The community feels this is the right time to act.
When many organizations and projects align and protest like this, there’s clearly a big net effect. There’s no question this makes the story bigger than if one site, say Wikipedia, protested alone. Ultimately though it doesn’t look like we’re just following in the steps of others. Our community has strong views about this - and has from the beginning. It doesn’t simply look like they’re viewing activism in terms of how other sites are responding. Conversely, a lot of those other sites are very much looking to Wikipedia to see how our community is responding.
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