SOPA

Three of the Internet's most popular destinations--Google, Wikipedia, and Craigslist--launched an audacious experiment in political activism this evening by urging their users to protest a pair of Hollywood-backed copyright laws.

Wikipedia's English-language pages went completely black at 9 p.m. PT, with a splash page saying "the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet." The online encyclopedia's blackout, intended to precede next week's Senate floor vote on the legislation, is scheduled to last 24 hours.

Craigslist and Google have taken a more modest approach. Unlike Wikipedia, … Read more

Anti-SOPA blackouts planned for tomorrow by sites like Wikipedia, Boing Boing, Reddit, and others are "stunts" that are "dangerous and troubling," Hollywood's chief lobbyist said.

In a statement issued today (PDF), MPAA chairman and CEO--and former U.S. Senator--Chris Dodd railed against the blackouts, calling them "an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on [the sites] for information and [who] use their services."

Dodd also said that the blackouts are "an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today. It's a dangerous and … Read more

When Jimmy Wales announced that Wikipedia will go black tomorrow in the United States in solidarity with the anti-SOPA protest movement, it was not a decision taken lightly. It might have even surprised many who thought the popular free encyclopedia Wales founded would be adopting a less stark way of protesting the Draconian copyright act. (See CNET's FAQ on SOPA.)

After all, Wikipedia is one of the most popular Web sites in the world, and a major source of information for millions of people.

But fret not. Thanks to some clever advice from Andrew Lih, the author of The Wikipedia Revolution, … Read more

All the controversy surrounding the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has hit a tipping point, with Wikipedia saying it'll go dark for 24 hours in protest. But don't expect Twitter to follow suit.

"That's just silly," Twitter CEO Dick Costolo tweeted in response to Radar reporter Alex Howard wondering if the microblogging service will also go dark over SOPA. "Closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish."

Costolo went on to say that "not shutting down a service doesn't equal not taking the proper stance on an … Read more

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has decided to shut down his site on Wednesday to protest SOPA.

Calling it a "decision of the Wikipedia community," Wales said he plans to join other Web sites in ceasing operations to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act, a controversial antipiracy bill being debated in Congress. "Final details under consideration but consensus seems to be for 'full' rather than 'soft' blackout!"

Last week, the news site Reddit announced it would shut down for 12 hours on Wednesday to express its displeasure with SOPA and Protect IP, its Senate sister. Other sites, … Read more

It may be a small bit of protest--literally--but thousands of people have been turning to Twitter to urge their followers to help defeat the Stop Online Piracy Act.

All over Twitter these days, you can find people who have plastered a "Stop SOPA" banner across their profile images. As of this writing, more than 14,000 users have added the banner, and according to the #BlackoutSOPA Web site, those users are reaching nearly 24.6 million followers.

To be sure, there's a lot of energy out there on the Internet these days to defeat SOPA. The news … Read more

The Obama administration issued a statement today on the Stop Online Piracy Act and other pending antipiracy legislation, saying the administration recognizes the need for laws that fight online piracy but is wary of legislation that could lead to censorship, cybersecurity problems, a quashing of innovation, and other issues.

"While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet," reads the statement, written by three high-level officials.

The statement … Read more

Count Wikipedia among the growing number of sites that are likely to take action against SOPA.

As anger towards the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act grows, more and more people and organizations are joining the fight against the bipartisan Congressional legislation. (See CNET's FAQ on SOPA.)

Earlier this week, the news site Reddit announced it would shut down for 12 hours on January 18 in a bid to make its displeasure known about SOPA and its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act. And now, there are strong signs that Wikipedia may express its community's protest sentiment, although it'… Read more

In a move the technology sector will surely see as a victory, a controversial antipiracy bill being debated in Congress will no longer include a provision that would require Internet service providers to block access to overseas Web sites accused of piracy.

Rep. Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), one of the biggest backers of the Stop Online Piracy Act, today said he plans to remove the Domain Name System requirements from the Stop Online Piracy Act.

"After consultation with industry groups across the country," Smith said in a statement released by his office, "I feel we should remove … Read more