SOPA Strike - Web Goes on Strike

Image by Fräulein Schiller via Flickr

Though this bit of news will not be of much interest to many of the global Internet and World Wide Web audience that is currently trying to find out that who will be the next Miss America and Miss Wisconsin or what happened to the cruise ship Costa Cruises but still, the biggest websites on the Web are preparing for a strike! Yes the Web will be going on strike against SOPA.

As shared here on SOPA Strike website, on January the 18th there is going to be an all-out strike with websites across the Internet will be going totally dark protesting against the internet censorship bills currently being pushed in the US Congress namely SOPA and PIPA.

So far, many of the of the largest websites in the world are participating including but not limited to Reddit, Mozilla etc. with many more that can be encouraged to join through various other ways such as leading micro-blogging platforms and a popular collaboratively-written encyclopedia but still they need a bit of a a nudge.

If you want to keep the Internet and World Wide Web functioning and protect freedom of expression online, you must support the world's largest online Web Strike Against SOPA and blog, tweet, darken your website and share with your friends across the world through status updates on leading social media websites. This is for the world!

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• Join webwide SOPA, PIPA protests (piedtype.com)

SOPA Stop Online Piracy Act will be killing the Internet and the world's largest Social and Cultural Revolution

Say no to SOPA now here! 

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

SOPA stands for "Stop Online Piracy Act" or "H.R.3261". The world should join together and get the word out to prevent the approval of such a bill. Why? Its going to destroy social and cultural innovation online across the world and most importantly, prevent developing countries from growing and participating in the today's Information and Knowledge economics of the globe..

SOPA is Unilateral, Single-sided control of the World Wide Web, Domain Names and IP Addresses!

SOPA noticeably promotes unilateral censorship:

"To promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property, and for other purposes." —H.R. 3261

If passed, the SOPA Bill will damage the Internet and World Wide Web:

1. SOPA infringes Human Rights in an Internet, World Wide Web and online world. 
2. SOPA is Internet censorship. 
3. SOPA will cripple the Internet
4. SOPA will threaten whistle-blowing and other free speech.
5. SOPA may be replicated by other authoritarian governments of the world thus threatens the very notion of freedom of expression. 
6. SOPA will prevent developing countries to create any intellectual ideas, products or content that is already copyrighted and protected in the US.
7. Despite the fact that the U.S. has been very vocal against censorship in other countries, it is attempting to censorship itself and will create the wrong example for other countries to follow and implement against their own citizens.

A vote is presently scheduled for Wednesday, 21st December, 2011 this week!

Please sign the petition against SOPA by clicking here

You must understand that:

1. The SOPA bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on 26th October, 2011, by Representative Lamar Smith and a bipartisan group of 12 initial co-sponsors. 
2. This bill stifles Internet and Web based Social and Cultural Innovation and Free expression as it expands the ability of U.S.only law enforcement and U.S. only copyright holders to fight online trafficking in U.S. copyrighted intellectual property and U.S. counterfeit goods.
3. It would allow the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as U.S. copyright holders, to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement and if the court orders, the actions could include barring online advertising networks and payment facilitators such as PayPal from doing business with the infringing website, barring search engines from linking to such sites, and requiring Internet service providers to block access to such sites. 
4. It makes unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content a felony. 
5. It gives immunity to Internet services that voluntarily take action against websites dedicated to infringement, while making liable for damages any copyright holder who knowingly misrepresents that a website is dedicated to infringement.

You must acknowledge that:

1. SOPA is an example of a narrow elite taking central control of Social and Cultural Expression. 
2. The global Internet and Web Citizenry have to be always vigilant of these threats that the web might become frightening to use. 
3. Online Freedom of Expression is breaking down hierarchical assumptions that some do not like. 
4. The web has already changed, improved or threatened the way society, economy and politics and cannot function like the old days of the Industrial Revolution.
5. The Internet and Web has given everyone connecting online the opportunity to be anyone, anywhere and anytime. 
6. The Internet and Web has given everyone the opportunity to be read, heard or seen thus promote themselves in a system that was controlled by corporations and monopolists. 
7. The Internet and Web have been providing opportunities that have never been provided to the individual human being before. 
8. User generated self promoted online content is shattering global commercial hierarchies. 
9. The old hierarchies want to sustain their way to discover new talent, content and opportunities through the network and prevent the individual opportunity to blossom.
10. The World Wide Web is being colonized by gate keepers and new elites and a handful less than 1% elite would like to control the future of the World Wide Web and free expression.

SOPA will break the Internet and the
World Wide Web!

WE, citizens of the world must help and encourage our policy makers to keep the Internet and World Wide Web free, equal and open for me, you and the entire human race! 

Related articles

• SOPA Stop Online Piracy Act will be killing the Internet and the world's largest Social and Cultural Revolution (internetsgovernance.blogspot.com)
• SOPA vote delayed indefinitely (digitaltrends.com)
• Anti-SOPA Movement Picks Up Steam, With Assist from Laurence Tribe (news.firedoglake.com)
• House Panel to Move Forward on Stop Online Piracy Act (pcworld.com)
• Founder of Internet Fears 'Unprecedented' Web Censorship From SOPA (tarpon.wordpress.com)
• The Elders of the Internet Take a Last Stand Against SOPA (techie-buzz.com)
• What SOPA means for business & innovation (infographic) (venturebeat.com)
• A Spark of Sanity: SOPA delayed as more Internet experts are needed (thenextweb.com)
• If you hate Big Government, fight SOPA. (blogs.law.harvard.edu)
• Strike! Wikipedia founder floats idea of site blackout to protest SOPA (venturebeat.com)