sopa

#SOPA sets Twitter aflame during blackout day

If you're active on Twitter, it's almost impossible to imagine that you got through today without being bombarded by mentions of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) or the Protect IP Act (PIPA), two controversial antipiracy bills under consideration in Congress.

But with today being the day that Web sites like Wikipedia, BoingBoing, Reddit, and many others went dark--not to mention Google and others that featured less drastic forms of anti-legislation protest--it was striking to see just how much issue dominated the conversation on Twitter.

On Tuesday, for example, there were approximately 106,500 mentions of the term &… Read more

Blare your dissent with anti-SOPA ringtone

Hate SOPA and PIPA? Tell the world every time you get a call.

As popular sites such as Wikipedia, Reddit, and Craigslist stay fully or partially dark on this day of protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), mobile entertainment site Myxer has released a more musical form of dissent.

Myxer's free Stop the SOPA! ringtone launches a rap-style rant about SOPA over a funky backbeat.

Myxer, which sees some 15 million unique users per month, joined the protest itself by blacking out parts of its Web site.

Though the demonstration was … Read more

Going dark means crazy day for anti-SOPA site owners

With sites like Reddit, BoingBoing, PostSecret, and I Can Has Cheezburger blacked out today in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, you might think this would be a peaceful, relaxed Wednesday for the people who run them. You'd be wrong.

All across the Internet, sites like those and many others stood up to register their opposition to SOPA and PIPA. But for some of those who have gotten the most attention for their activism, today has actually been crazier than usual, despite not having to constantly update their publications all day.

"Today … Read more

How to boycott SOPA with Android

Do you want to show your disdain for SOPA with your voting dollars? If so, you can boycott companies and products that support SOPA, using your Android device. Here's how:

First, make sure you have a bar code scanner like Google Goggles or ZXing installed, then install the Boycott SOPA app from the Android Market.

Next, launch the Boycott SOPA app and scan the bar code of the product you're interested in. After a few moments, the app will return with "Item OK" or "Bad Item." If the product isn't in the database, … Read more

Protect IP, SOPA protests knock Senate Web sites offline

A widespread Internet protest against Hollywood-backed copyright legislation has knocked some U.S. Senate Web sites intermittently offline.

Around 11 a.m. PT today, the rush of visitors looking for ways to contact their members of Congress overwhelmed several Web pages of individual senators. As CNET reported this morning, some sponsors of the Protect IP and the Stop Online Piracy Act have switched sides as a result of the protest.

The amount of traffic "temporarily shut down our Web site," Sen. Ron Wyden, the leading opponent of the Protect IP Act, wrote on Twitter.

By noon PT, the … Read more

Mark Zuckerberg finally comes out against SOPA

Although Facebook has been public about its opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been personally silent on the matter. Until now.

Today, Zuckerberg came out against SOPA and PIPA with postings on both Facebook and Twitter. In the case of Twitter, it appeared to be Zuckerberg's first tweet in nearly three years.

On Facebook, Zuckerberg was very clear about his position:

The internet is the most powerful tool we have for creating a more open and connected world. We can't let poorly thought out laws get in the … Read more

Protests lead to weakening support for Protect IP, SOPA

An unprecedented online protest against a Hollywood-backed copyright bill may be working: some of its previous supporters in the U.S. Congress are backing down.

The protest, which included a Wikipedia blackout and home page alerts at Google.com and Amazon.com, has prompted some senators contacted by CNET today to abandon their earlier enthusiasm for Protect IP and the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. A Senate floor vote on Protect IP is scheduled for January 24.

"I'm withdrawing my co-sponsorship for the Protect IP Act," said Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican.

Sen. John Boozman, … Read more

RIAA posts (not) funny tweet about Wikipedia

The SOPA opera is enjoying a defining episode today.

Many important sites like Google are registering their protest. Some, like Wikipedia, have gone entirely dark.

So what do members of the RIAA--which, some tell me, stands for the Record Industry Archaic Association--think of all this? It seems they think it's funny.

For behold a witty tweet from Jonathan Lamy, the Recording Industry Association of America's senior vice president of communications: "After Wikipedia blackrout (sic), somewhere, a student today is doing original research and getting his/her facts straight. Perish the thought."

I know there will be … Read more

SOPA protests won't damage Google search rankings

Ordinarily, taking your Web site offline or removing its content is pretty high on the list of ways to damage its prominence in Google search results.

But Google has granted a special exemption during the protests today of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Many in the tech realm despise the proposed legislation and are protesting it with blackened, content-free sites.

Pierre Far, a Webmaster trends analyst at Google, offered an assurance that SOPA protests today won't cause problems with Googlebot, the system Google uses to constantly examine the Web's content and structure.

"We realize many Web … Read more