Powerful protest
January 19, 2012
Those who rely on the Internet fact repository Wikipedia to answer all of life's questions were left looking for answers on Wednesday as the site went dark. For 24 hours, the popular website was replaced by a single black page with the text: "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge."
Hundreds of other websites joined the blackout, also restricting their content to protest two bills being debated by US Congress, anti-piracy measures which they argue would undermine innovation and free speech rights and compromise the functioning of the Internet.
The Reddit news site went offline for 12 hours, along with the popular blog Boing Boing. Google remained operational, but blotted out its logo with a black censorship bar. It called on users to "Tell Congress: Please don't censor the Web" and linked to a petition against the laws.
Before Wednesday's protest the bills, known as SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act), were broadly supported by legislators from both sides of the political spectrum - SOPA in the House of Representatives and PIPA in the Senate, where they were on track for approval. Their goal: to combat Internet piracy, in particular the illegal downloading of films and music from foreign-based websites. The motivation: to secure American jobs, above all in the entertainment industry, which has strongly backed the bills.
White House backs protesters
Wikipedia and other Web giants say the planned laws go too far. If passed, the sites would be responsible for the content of every site they link to, a costly and virtually impossible task given the complexity of the Internet, they argue. The laws "could fatally damage the free and open Internet," according to Wikipedia's blacked out site.
Critics have also objected to a provision that would require Internet service providers to cut off access to infringing sites using a technology known as DNS (Domain Name Systems) blocking, a central building block of the Internet.
On the weekend, US President Barack Obama weighed in on the debate on the side of the protesters. "Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small," the White House said in a blog posting signed by three of Obama's advisers, including Howard Schmidt, an adviser on cybersecurity.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that although there was a need to combat online piracy on foreign websites, at the same time the freedom of the Internet should not be compromised.
"That's why there needs to be the kind of dialogue we believe that could bring us to a resolution - that could result in a resolution that is balanced and addresses concerns about online privacy, but doesn't impinge upon the freedom of the Internet," he said.
Representatives rethink their support
Legislators were seemingly impressed by Wednesday's widespread protests.
"It's pretty clear to many of us that there's a lack of consensus at this point," said Republican House speaker John Boehner. "And I would expect that the committee would continue to work to try to build a consensus before this bill moves.
Several legislators came out against the proposed bills, according to the Washington Post. Republican Darrell Issa, one of the few representatives to oppose SOPA early on, praised the Internet protest on Twitter. For the occasion, he marked his Twitter photo with the hash tag #OPEN. He let his followers know that Senator Marco Rubio, a PIPA co-sponsor, had also withdrawn his support.
Rubio explained on his Facebook page that he was withdrawing his support for the law, given the many legitimate objections.
"I have decided to withdraw my support for the Protect IP Act," he said. "Furthermore, I encourage [Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid to abandon his plan to rush the bill to the floor."
Rubio said more time was needed to address the concerns raised by all sides, and to draft a legislation that "addresses Internet piracy while protecting free and open access to the Internet." Other legislators followed suit and also called for a reassessment - the debate over SOPA and PIPA is set to continue.
Author: Christina Bergmann, Washington, DC / cmk
Editor: Andy Valvur