This week Savvy Blogging will be joining the Blackout on Wednesday, in protest of the SOPA and PIPA bills scheduled to be voted on January 24, 2012.
What are SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act)?
They are new Bills set to be voted on in the House and Senate.
Watch this video to understand what the SOPA and PIPA are:
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.
What is the SOPA Strike?
The SOPA Strike is the day the web goes on strike, January 18, 2012, in protest of the SOPA and PIPA bills.
How Could SOPA and PIPA Affect My Blog?
The most obvious and scary part about these bills, is that they will allow the government to censor and shut down any website/blog it sees fit. If your blog/website is a significant source of revenue, this could have dire consequences.
How Can I Join the Sopa Strike?
Join the Blackout Petition here.
If you are on a WordPress blog, you can install the Down Against Sopa Plugin, and it will black out your site on January 18 and 23, 2012.
Otherwise if you wish to support this Blackout on Wednesday, January 18, 2012, you will need to find another way to shut down your website.
Change your profile photo to support the protest.
Further Reading:
TechCrunch: SOPA Supporters on the Run
SOPA Postponed, but nothing said about Protect IP.
Photo courtesy of TechCrunch.
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I totally understand the reason for the strike but I’m curious how the government will know our sites are down in protest. Thanks for any clarification.
Tshanina
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Crystal Collins Reply:
January 16th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
You can join the list here Tshanina: http://sopastrike.com
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Curious – are the Savvy Blogging contributors also blocking all the other web properties they are part of?
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Crystal Collins Reply:
January 16th, 2012 at 3:52 pm
I will be Carrie.
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I will be too. I think the main point is to spread awareness. If we can encourage our readers to contact their local senators in opposition, then that’s how the government will know what we’ve done.
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I don’t have a blog, or a site other than facebook, but censorship of any kind is only a stepping stone to more interferance in our personal business. I had not heard of this until just today. Shame on those looking to get this thru.
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p.s. Just that this is even possible is incredibly disturbing to me.
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