SOPA Down But Not Dead, PIPA Still Up in Senate, Internet Companies Protest

With the White House coming down against SOPA a few days ago, it was no surprise that the bill was finally shelved. While some have declared victory, “Ding-dong, SOPA’s dead,” others are more hesitant. As it turns out, SOPA’s co-founder Lamar Alexander plans to bring it back in February, "due to the Republican and Democratic retreats taking place over the next two weeks.” So the bill is still out there.

And it isn’t just SOPA people on the Internet are worried about. Like many other bills in the House, a similar bill was sent to the Senate, the “Protect IP Act” or PIPA. Considered just as big a threat to the Internet and Second Life, it is due for a vote in the Senate this January. Sponsored by Patrick Leahy, the bill is described as having bipartisan support among 40 Senators. Senator Ron Wyden has spoken out against the bill, as has the “Tea Party Patriots” organization.

For these reasons, a number of Internet companies, groups and individuals are protesting in a number of ways. Many, including Wikipedia, blacked out their websites in protest today. Others, including Google , blacked out their logo. Facebook remains up, but a number of people are replacing their profile picture and sometimes gallery images with images symbolizing censorship.

For US readers wanting to contact your legislators to oppose SOPA & PIPA, Click here.

Sources: Electronic Frontier Foundation, Wikipedia, Techdirt, Forbes, Dailytech

Bixyl Shuftan

SOPA on the Defensive, Opponents Plan Blackout Protests Jan 18th.

There’s been still more developments on the SOPA bill. More and more people have been speaking out on the issue. Some of the people haven’t really been known for computer issues before, such as the comic critic “That Guy With the Glasses.” Others are, such as the social media website Reddit by blacking out their site for 12 hours on Wednesday January 18th, some of the people having opinions on the matter short and to the point (image not safe for work). The games Firefall and Minecraft are also planning protests by shutting down their websites that day. Wikipedia “appears to be very close to announcing a blackout or something like it.” Google is supposedly planning some kind of protest other than a blackout.

As the protests mount, the backers of SOPA find themselves on uneasy ground. Senator Lamar Smith, the co-author of the bill, was found to be in violation of SOPA himself. An image on his website failed to give credit to it’s creator, “maybe I could petition the court to take action against texansforlamarsmith.com.” So perhaps it’’s no surprise the other co-author, Patrick Leahy, was willing to remove one segment of the bill.

Also, the White House seems to be finally tilting to the side of the SOPA opponents, at least on the surface. Whitehouse.gov made a lengthy statement, which stated “we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.” However, it encouraged all sides involved to work together to pass “sound legislation.” Whether or not this “sound legislation” acceptable would be SOPA with just a piece or two removed or changed is unclear.

So what can Residents do? Click Here for information on how to contact you senators and Congressman on the matter.

Bixyl Shuftan