Some of leading internet websites have blacked out their websites in protest of the SOPA and PIPA Acts. Google has blacked out its homepage logo with the message "Tell Congress: Please don’t censor the Web!" that is visible only to those in the US. To see the blacked out Google home page (for readers outside the US) click here.
Jane Wells, a member of WordPress Staff said in the WordPress Blog:
"Normally we stay away from from politics here at the official WordPress project — having users from all over the globe that span the political spectrum is evidence that we are doing our job and democratizing publishing, and we don’t want to alienate any of our users no matter how much some of us may disagree with some of them personally. Today, I’m breaking our no-politics rule; because there’s something going on in US politics right now that we need to make sure you know about and understand, because it affects us all.
"Using WordPress to blog, to publish, to communicate things online that once upon a time would have been relegated to an unread private journal (or simply remained unspoken, uncreated, unshared) makes you a part of one of the biggest changes in modern history: the democratization of publishing and the independent web. Every time you click Publish, you are a part of that change, whether you are posting canny political insight or a cat that makes you LOL. How would you feel if the web stopped being so free and independent? I’m concerned freaked right the heck out about the bills that threaten to do this, and as a participant in one of the biggest changes in modern history, you should be, too."
Click here to see WordPress’s explanation of the SOPA and PIPA act.
Movie and music industries are backing the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect IP Act in the Senate as a way to crack down on counterfeit products by non US websites. The movie industry is pushing that companies like Google will participate in the responsibility for lessening the distribution of material that is pirated.
Craigslist have blacked out just its U.S sites and the Hacking group, Anonymous has participated in the protest by posting messages against SOPA on its websites.
The social news site Reddit has said that it will be closing its down for 12 hours to protest the SOPA and PIPA.
Twitter is not participating in the protests and CEO Dick Costolo said: "Not shutting down a service doesn’t equal not taking the proper stance on an issue." In a Twitter message earlier the CEO said: "Closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics" is foolish.
