Wikipedia blacks out site to protest pending anti-piracy bills

Technology expert Carmi Levy says while copyright owners deserve to have their rights protected, protesters say proposed government laws will essentially kill free speech.

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Google blacked out, Stop Online Piracy Act, SOPA

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Getting around the Wikipedia blackout: A survival guide

The Associated Press

Date: Wed. Jan. 18 2012 9:38 PM ET

NEW YORK — January 18 is a date that will live in ignorance, as Wikipedia started a 24-hour blackout of its English-language articles, joining other sites in a protest of pending U.S. legislation aimed at shutting down sites that share pirated movies and other content.

Reddit.com shut down its social news service for 12 hours. Other sites made their views clear without cutting off surfers. Google blacked out the logo on its home page, directing surfers to a page where they could add their names to a petition against the bills.

Local listings site Craiglist took a middle route, changing its local home pages to a black screen directing users to an anti-legislation page. After 10 seconds, a link to the main site appears on the home page, but some surfers missed that and were fooled into thinking the whole site was blacked out.

The Internet companies are concerned that the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate, if passed, could be used to target legitimate sites where users share content.

The 24-hour Wikipedia blackout is an unprecedented move for the online encyclopedia. The decision was reached after polling the community of contributors, but dissenters say political advocacy undermines the site's mission as a neutral source.

However, it's not complete: the block can be bypassed by changing browser settings to disable JavaScript, or by using the version of the site designed for cellphone screens.

There's also a "mirror" or copy, of Wikipedia called The Free Dictionary, but it's not up to date.

Comments are now closed for this story

harolyn scott
said

mr. pres & congress, be aware that the american public is free. don't mess with the internet...you can be voted out of office!!!!!!!!!

robin hood
said

Thanks Core I just had a listen; scary interesting how the states feel they can pass a bill legislating a law that affects the rest of the world. The kicker is only American citizens get an Aye or Nay vote. Do you really want FOX or CNN viewer deciding whether or not you or I are criminals? The media moguls are looking to reverse copy rights laws that will turn us average folks into thieves for wanting to create and share using ie: Facebook, youtube with friends and family with our mere amateur status. They want to reverse the law so that we are guilty until we prove ourselves innocent with the onus being on us of course. As TED puts it they want us all on the couch consuming. Check him out; he explains it better than I do!

calgary
said

what lots of people dont know is with how broadly the bill is worded they could and would most likely be going after sites such as youtube, facebook, twitter, etc. and whats even more disturbing is with the way the laws between us and the USA are and wwith the leadership we currently have inplace the USA could consevebly walk into canada inforce their laws and try canadians for using any sites they flagged or black listed

iamfat
said

sigh, if SOPA and PIPA happens that means greedy business men will come in and overprice popular things. Good fight to those developing countries evolving on internet, they gonna get ripped off.

Core
said

Have a look at this TED talk:

http://www.ted.com/talks/defend_our_freedom_to_share_or_why_sopa_is_a_bad_idea.html

Copy and paste in browser.

Sean H. in Ottawa
said

I've read a lot of comments here and there's clearly a lot of ignorance. Let me break it down for you.

No one is saying that piracy is OK.

The wording of the bill would allow then to shut down any site that is merely accused of infringing. Also, if I didn't like your site for some reason I could post a link to pirated material in your comments section and report it. Under the new law they would be NOT be required to ask you to remove it (currently safe harbour requires that they notify the infringer and ask them to remove it). They would simply shut your site down.

The problem is that they want to hand control of the internet in the US to a group of old men that proudly admit they have no understanding of the thing they would have the power to shut down at will.

This is not a solution to piracy. Piracy existed before the internet and if they kill the internet it will continue to exist.

James Murray
said

The internet is more than a collection of "art" waiting to be plucked by passer-bys like ripe apples. It is a resource for information and to share ideas. To censor this resource under the ruse that it is going to help the artists is stupid. What's next? Banning publicly playing music because anyone can hear it without paying. What about cover songs? School plays? Talent shows? Photographs of paintings in a museum? Am I to feel guilty everytime I hear a song played from another car? No. Does this mean I support piracy? No. Infact I can't stand people who pride themselves on getting music and movies for free. I think it's no different from shopplifting. Do I think stores should all have membership fees and only allow those who have payed in advance in to protect itself from shoplifters? No. Do you? I doubt it.
A wise man once declared that we should never give up our freedoms for security because if we do we will have nothing left to defend.
I feel like I should have the right to choose. The right to make the right decision without some unknown saying what I am allowed to see, view, hear, discuss, share and belive. I am not the enemy. I am a part of what makes the internet great. The idea that at anytime I can see what is going on anywhere I choose to look. Learn something erronous because someone posted something wrong. Read a well crafted article about some far fetched gov't conspiracy. Watch a video on how to change the alternator in my car. Find a recipe for chicken and discover a new cheese that I never even heard of before.
All that will be gone and none of it had to with artists rights.

Michelle
said

Get involved! http://culturecatch.com/dusty/stop-censorship

Trevor H.
said

I guess Obama is taking some time off of bankrupting the USA.Now he is working on screwing up the internet!

Sean H. in Ottawa
said

@Jay

They are talking about man hours. Meaning the hours of all the contributors added together. For example, three people work and 8 hours shift. That's 24 man hours. Thank you for your contribution.

Ann Parker
said

Unfortunately with SOPA there is too much of a gray area, so the general public is in fear of what they will lose or what penalties they will face if they use anything in the public domain....

The problem though seems to be ever more tightening of the collars by the Powers that Be - taking more rights & freedoms away from the public in an attempt to control who gets paid for what. Certainly rules need to be in place to protect copyrights, but that certain celebrities dare to suggest they can copyright common English words (*That's hot*), is what makes the reaction to SOPA so vehement by people who would normally be completely unaffected by this bill by their daily use of the internet.

Sahara
said

I can still go to wiki!?

Brandon
said

America, the New China!

Terry in Alberta
said

Just goes to show that americans have to control everything or atleast try, the oil overseas for example. As they think the world revolves around them so why not what goes on in the internet.

reidjr
said

Core
While i think there are alot of issues with this bill my concern is there are people that think you should be allowed to watch and downlaod anything you want for free that is a very big issue.

James, Ontario
said

It looks like the Basic/Simple English version of the site is still running. I think that will do nicely for a certain few people here.

Michael Dorosh
said

I fully support SOPA. Any site or person that can only "freely express" themselves by stealing from others does not deserve to be protected. Do your due diligence in helping protect the artistic property of others - not just corporations, but small artists - and you will have no problems under anti-piracy laws. This bill is not a threat to anyone willing to do what they should have been doing since the internet became public anyway.

Niagara George
said

Quite a few voices against this legislation. Interesting! I wonder how many of those same people posted something in favour of the 'Occupiers.' This site was deluged with anti-occupier posts. Both situations are part and parcel of the same story... Republicans and Conservatives working their hardest to help the rich get richer, while covering up their changes in the clothing of terrorism, tax regulations, piracy, economic growth and tax cuts.

R. K.
said

Hey ppl admit it, we visit Wikipedia every day to find answers for everything
It is free and no damn commercials, we want Wikipedia back ASAP

CommentGuy
said

Added humour here, this very news article we are responding to would result in ctv.ca from being blocked by USA DNS servers for 'facilitating' the work around for wikipedia's blackout.

And if the article were changed to not offend the law, the comments would have had the same effect.

Thank about what the law actually means, not what it claims to do.

chalak
said

Actually, you don't know the actual reason behind this or you might know but not disclosing. The main theme is to control the internet, because the US government doesn't want to be happened the same thing as caused by the Wikileaks.
But they are worng. To prevent this, taking care of the internet is not the good idea instead of taking care of their own habbits or policies.

Core
said

These proposed SOPA and PIPA bills by Congress is reminiscent of the famous "Patriot Act" they passed in 2001. That act was passed off as an act to bring down terrorists. At the time, most Americans felt it was a good decision, which in and of itself is fine but the reality of the act is very Orwellian in nature. It allows the Government the right to spy on anyone anytime. It is about control, and the wrong people in charge of such power could be disastrous. A word of warning America, be careful what freedoms you sacrifice now and in the future. Do you all really believe this is only about copyright infringement?

Karen
said

If wikepedia is shutting down, then whats the use of the whole internet? When I am looking for info, from singers to actresses, from soccer players to tennis players, or anything or anyone pretty much. Wikepedia is even better than encyclopedia, it can be edited by everying, created by the user. It is and will always be the best information site, book or movie ever.

Brandon
said

@ Dave in Ottawa!!
1. You don't know what your talking about. Both parties cater to Corporations.
2. Obama has more former Wall St execs in his office than any other President.
3. The two party system is scam.

Marion
said

I won't miss Wikipedia. A lot of info on that site is unverified. Wiki is only looking out for its own market share.

Terry from Cambridge
said

Shame on you, CTV, for not giving this story more prominence. It should be front and centre, considering the American government will have complete control over all .com and .org domains in Canada, which will affect Canadian businesses immensely. Just one copyright complaint will be enough to have a site shut down, and it will be up to an American official to decide. Canadians will have absolutely NO SAY and NO CONTROL if this goes through.

matt
said

actually vincent watson, google did black out i seen it and they had a link about why they did it. this whole thing is so that the internet can be policed/monitored, no more freedom in the internet

Brad
said

The government shouldn't have any input into the internet they're just looking for a means to control what they couldn't before

patrick
said

i think its a very good idea.

patrick
said

thats cool but kinda annoying. i think it'll get a lot o awareness

Lee
said

Jay, get the facts straight before you open your ignorant mouth. Do you know how many VOLUNTEERS "work" for Wikipedia, around the world. Now multiply that by the number of hours in a decade. Let me guess, you support SOPA, right?

Holden
said

I don't know why google is part of this, they censor/restrict the public with their own search engines.

CF
said

Rights of the artists my ass. MPAA/RIAA are doing it for themselves and not the artists. Artists can easily publish their works online without needing to go to Universal or other big studio.
This will force the artists in going back to big studios so that the studios can give the artists 0.01% of every dollar off their works.
Stop being so ignorant and falling for Rupert Murdoch's propaganda.

CommentGuy
said

Just to add some clarity to the comments here. The issue here isn't about theft of music, books, movies, or software at all. It's about the collateral damage that will result.

To use an analogy, pretend the internet is a car, the 'bad pirate' is a bank robber and the bank is 'big media.'

The bank robber uses the car to rob a bank. Robbing a bank is wrong, so do you hobble the car to prevent the theft?

An easy way to fix the problem then is to remove the wheels of the car. Theft prevented, no?

Well, no. You can always get tires from off shores if you cared enough, or you'd maybe, walk to the bank to rob it, or use a horse.

What happens as a result is that the bank robbery is just made a little bit different, but everyone else is stuck with a useless car.

The same is true for the internet. The proposed laws would restrict, or alter, the very wheels of the internet; namely, the DNS architecture. End result, people have access to half the internet, or the internet fragments as people get their DNS services from off shore hosts.

To restate, the fuss over these proposed measures is that they have identified a perceived problem but do not provide a useful/beneficial method of addressing it.

TL;DR - Don't destroy the commons because of the abusers.

bellesque
said

We are in danger of losing an open Internet, which might be the last bastion for exchanging ideas and voicing dissenting opinions on a large scale. Government should not be controlling the Net. No one should. There are other ways to protect copyright without laws that can easily be used to silence dissent. Find another way. This is a very slippery slope, this law. And I speak as a creative person who has copyrights to protect.

John
said

Google.ca is not blacked out, and if you click "go to Google.com" at the bottom of the page, it goes to google.com and it's not blacked out...

BUT if you are in the USA, you WILL see google.com blacked out

in awe
said

li�brar�y/'li?brere/Noun: 1.A building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for people to read, borrow, or...2.A collection of books and periodicals held in such a building or room.

vincent watson
said

the action by wikipedia is just a
cheap headline grabbing stunt and is therefore illegal.Google did not black out its logo in Canada
or the US. These internet giants
MUST support the American legis-
lation completely.

Dave in Ottawa
said

Actually Betty, the legislation was put forward by the Rupublicans, an outfit more apparently to your liking. Obam belongs to the othet organization...the one that actually cares about people before corporations.

Susan Fairbairn
said

Some people may missing the point of this proposed legislation. The proposed legislation is probably going to be backing up copyright laws which, in turn, protect artists, authors, performers, songwriters and musicians from having their works used without being paid for it.

John987652
said

@ Jay
"What high school dropout neglected to proof read their statement before careless posting such a gross exaggeration online as part of their protest?"

Those are millions of man-hours... not the total amount of time for the cumulative effort you freakin' genius...

How does it feel to embarrass yourself in front of the entire internet?

Karl Rove
said

To use Wikipedia all you need to do is select the cached version in google and you can see what you need to see.

China Model
said

It's simply an attempt by the American government, and other governments around the world to attain the ability to shut down any website they deem unfit. They know there economy is doomed. They have seen what social media has done in other countries. It has helped lead revolutions. They know one will be coming to them soon enough. That is why they want to ensure they have a mechanism in place to shut down anything they want if they so need. Simply put, they saw what happened when social media was allowed to flourish, and they have seen what happens when your allowed to block it (aka China). They have chosen which model to follow in order to save their own hides, and further control and alienate the people. The internet is leading a global revolution, allowing all peoples of all countries to realize how much we have in common, and how foolish the mistakes of the past have been. This sort of communication between the brotherhood of man is going to lead us into the future. The powers that be know this, and they are afraid of what that future is, and that they will not have absolute control in the new world. This is only a feeble attempt to prevent the inevitable.

Chris
said

I find this situation something that is treated stupidly. Without the internet, we would have no education on many things, such as symptoms when people are sick, also think of all the universities and colleges who have online applications, we would be losing so much. The government needs to stop prioritizing money and start thinking about the people who spend it!! This is ridiculous! Sure money is important, only because our economy is the shit!

abril castro
said

it's good that google is doing that because i use google to help me with all my work, homework, and with all the things i need

iftiseem
said

There are so many far more important issues than this internet one. people are dying because of Health care issue , no jobs , no home,no food etc etc...Dear Congress for God sake stop playing for the big corporations , do something for the people who makes the majority.

Cheshyr
said

@Betty Obama has already stated his opposition to many clauses in the bills. Ignorant much?

Protecting IP and Copyright isn't a bad thing. but SOPA and PIPA are too exploitable. Anyone with minimal technical background can bypass the intended measures, while it allows unregulated censorship of anything on the web. It'd be like giving reddit the ability to block certain phone numbers on your cell phone, on the suspicion that you may be calling terrorists. And then, giving microsoft the ability to redirect those same phone numbers to their marketing agency.

The entire proposal is the wrong tool for the job, will only a limited number of large corporations, while putting overwhelming burdens on medium and small websites. It sacrifices the interent infrastructure for the sake of capitalism.

ICrapped Mypants HARD
said

Dunno what you're talking about...there's no blackout out logo on Google at this end of my computer.??

Crapping Pants, in Toronto

Justin
said

It was republicans who introduced this, Obama has spoken out against it.Ignorance at it's finest.

Joanne
said

Canadian Google home page is not blacked out as specified in your article.

Jack
said

Jay,
I think they mean collective hours. As in adding all of the hours for each individual. So, that would mean multiplying by the number of contributors if you were looking for a max possible hours. So, they're not really lying.

Jesse613
said

This is pointless and shameful.

If Google went down for a week or so, then yes, there would be a hit on the online community.

Wikipedia is not taking a hit on anyone with their "12-24" hour blackout (which can be reversed). It's a non-profit organisation which is losing nothing to show the world that it 'cares'.

If these companies/people want to prove a point, it would be recommended to halt websites that are used my millions/billions of users on a daily basis such as Google and YouTube. Websites of that calibre should have a link to briefly explain the situation to educate the people in order for them to take action and raise awareness.

What a waste of time for those that put their time and energy in this project. They have made a mockery out of this message and my message to you is: Go back to the drawing board and try this all over again.

Duke
said

Wow, I am amazed by the comments to this story which show the lack of people's reading comprehension skills the classic example from B in Ottawa wrote:

"If Wikipedia is going dark to support this legislation, it must be really bad..."

This self imposed shutdown is retaliation AGAINST the proposed legislation which would hold Wikipedia responsible for monitoring what is posted on their website to see if any content is in violation of copyright laws, a task of near impossibility.

eras
said

It appears that the majority of responders are missing the point here. We as individuals have a right to share and borrow from each other. The internet allows the free flow of information. It is a powerful tool for individuals and is feared by many of those in positions of power. This bill is the first step towards taking away the freedom of the individual by saying that we no longer have the ability to share unless it is regulated by the government. Think of it more as a prohibiton on the way you freely think.

Goobers
said

Its all about control!! We are a society that follows the majority, and right now it appears the majority is content with SOPA regulation. We are like puppy dogs.....give us a treat every once in a while and we will do anything you want!!!!

Betty
said

Legislation looks like another Obama attempt to give government even more control over the people - what they see and hear and can say.
What will be next?

S A McPherson
said

"The 24-hour Wikipedia blackout is an unprecedented move for the online encyclopedia. The decision was reached after polling the community of contributors, but dissenters say political advocacy undermines the site's mission as a neutral source. "That's right. So they poll the Wiki community to decide what to do, and sometimes, what to write - what perspective to take on an article. They are no more for truth and knowledge than any other political group. These people who rely on Wiki for their research should try other sources for a change. Even Wiki would agree that one of the problems here is that foreign sites may be blocked out, limiting access to the truth. "In short, these bills are efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by foreign web sites, but, in our opinion, they do so in a way that actually infringes free expression while harming the Internet." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more

that guy from alberta
said

what???....no more free porn!!!....that in itself is an atrocity!

eddytoronto
said

War is closer than Yall think...Iran Threatens To Torpedo US Aircraft Carriers...Senior Iranian military commander has warned ...

jack black
said

now, if the mainstream entertainment industry had anything of value, I might be concerned, but modern entertainment is more about making a profit than actual entertainment and art, the best artists are usually the ones no one knows anyway :)

PEI Fella
said

I think the US Government has much bigger fish to fry then this. How can they justify wasting time on this when their economy is on the edge of catastrophe.

Susie-Q Mtl
said

I tried to access Wikipedia last nite & couldn't. I was in History of Westmount. I wanted to research on the people who built the city. I read what Wikipedia put there. Does this mean my son & i will no longer get the free movie site? Does this mean the music i get on you tube will now be different? Maybe i should get that $60.00 thing for the TV & Bell express vu. Use the 50's music from the 900 channels like I had before. I will do my research on Thurs. Mtl.W. also has old places.

tigga
said

Yo I think congress is ignorant to the fact that their are more important issue to resolve than censoring the internet, i use google all day everyday,... i think it is just another excuse for congress to prove that they're
doing somthing for this country when they blind themselves to the world around them,../... B(

Amber
said

Everyone that is say cry babies are whining because they have to pay for things soon are wrong and uneducated...I dont know about you but I pay for my internet service, therefore I am paying for the items I look up online. Internet isn't cheap anymore and maybe they should be going after these over charging providers who wanted to limit the usage per month but yet have us pay the same high amounts. It's the internet providers at fault who should be paying extra not us the hard working citizens!

Mike V
said

@Jay

When they say millions of hours they are talking about man-hours. You are assuming hours for a single person over that period of time. Check "your" math.

jim
said

this is stupid! if others take our info or pics or property its no big deal. If these artists and writers want to protect their material then they shouldn't put it on the web.
Stop complaining about your millions and go back to the way it was. read books and buy music at a music store. get over it people!!

SteveinToronto
said

@Jay - you forgot one multiple in your calculations - Number of Staff involved.

If a single person works 8 hours a day x 5 days a week x 50 weeks a year (2 weeks vacation) x 10 years online you will have a single person working for 20,000 hours.

But if there were 10 people working it would be 200,000 hours. 100 people would be 2,000,000 hours.

They have more than 100 staff, plus the thousands of individuals who add to the site every days.

I agree with the statement of "millions of hours". And it could be getting close to a billion hours.

Steve

New Yorker
said

English speaking wikipedia will be blackout everywhere, even in Canada, if it's passed by the congress. 99% likely it will NOT be passed.

Mq
said

@ Winston:: So your ok with paying for each and every site you visit. Because this legislation is one step away from that. Or how about a .50 Cent charge on your credit card each time you make a post like that? YOU CANNOT PUT THE GENIE BACK IN THE BOTTLE! Artists need to change, and find ways to make money. Attacking the internet for the entertainment industry's inability to adapt is simply silly. Not my problem. The modern age artist's are using it, not trying to control it. Dinosaur rock stars and hollywood trying to hold back tidal wave. Good luck with that.

Munro - Brampton
said

There is more to this ! The record companies want to stop artists from sharing their songs online. Some recording artists may for example provide a song for free to raise people's awareness of them. The big record companies want to stop this.

Marc
said

Strange, I just went to Google and there's no black bar over the logo. I went to other sites as well and they were fine, specially their Canadian versions.CTV, stop with posting stories written in the USA.

Pip
said

These proposed laws represent the coming of Big Brother to the internet, only it will not be government watching you, but big corporations, all of whom will soon be hiring IT staff who will do nothing but mine out data on who's doing what, where. Then with all their billions, will launch a flood of lawsuits that the average down-loader - even pirate sites - will be unable to fight, bankrupting those involved. I have no doubt those data miners will have a brief that extends beyond seeking out piracy, and comments such as those found on this site will quickly be silenced. There is always too much interference with free speech, and this is the most damaging yet.

SteveO
said

I've used Wikipedia without issue this morning. The simplest way to access the site without issue, is to click on "cached", and not the direct link itself.

Freeman
said

Good for Wikipaedia! It is one of my prime sources for research.
For the Mr Andersons of this world. Open source software is the cornerstone of the Internet and has been since its inception. You can cheer for overpriced crapware that is rushed to market with too much hype and fanfare to then repeatedly leave you with the blue screen of dead. When arch-crooks like Murdoch are ranting about Google piracy. You know who owns the politicos in Washington. So the corporate message is do as we say and not as we do. We own the courts and we'll crush the peasants.

shane
said

@JayPlease think outside the box. When they made the comment regarding the millions of hours, they don�t mean ONE person. It�s a combination of �man hours� from everyone who contributed. This included the people who manage the site, submit new articles and the ones who edit them for accuracy. I Had to laugh when I read what you wrote. As for the actual point�totally agree with Wikipedia! Great job�I hope it makes an impact. But the US government simply does what they want. They don�t give a dang about its people�s opinions.

James, Ontario
said

@Jay, if I can interrupt your freakout. They mean man-power hours. (also woman-power hours for those of you that like to be PC) This is a very common way to measure this kind of work. (In fact I don't know another, word count or pages maybe) Your math only works if you're talking about one person on a 100% load. There are tens of thousands of active contributes to Wikipidia.While it's only an application of previously existing technologies, the project has changed modern society for the better. I don't know for certain if I know anyone that hasn't used it. It is an impressive aggregation of human knowledge. In a historical sense it may rival the Library of Alexandria yet can be accessed from any point on the face of the earth. (plus the ISS I'm sure) I think they're due a little room on the hyperbole if the applied hours don't actually reach into the millions.

JB
said

@Jay: You are assuming only one person has put time into Wikipedia. If today I work on something for 10 hours and so do 4 of my friends, there is 50 hours invested in the project over only 1 day.

Winston J. Anderson
said

Now all the crybabies will come out of the woodwork. They want everything for free. They don't want to pay for products that others created. This law is needed to protect the rights of artists. Show me a person against this legislation, and I'll show you a thief too cheap to pay for their downloads.

Bill
said

How could anyone in their right mind be for putting traffic cops on the web?The mind control freaks in the corporate world and government detest a arena where they are not the gate keepers.Just look for posters who are always for taking more civil liberties and freedoms and you got a good idea of who the paid "messengers" are.Unless we actually do have this % of people who love the idea of authoritarian rule.That is a frightening thought!

Jamie D
said

Good to see the website float in ethos. I suppose this gives Jimmy Wales some credibility when it comes to his claim that Wikipedia doesn't accept extra-corporate advertising or sales No sponsor would allow Jimmy to thumb his nose at a capitalism protecting law of digital copyright by shutting down an agreed advertising space on a VERY popular website. (contracts would spell out a huge penalty for this type of behavior)

The Alberta Advantage
said

What a waste of time, if this type of legislation ever gets passed and implemented, they will simply move off shore like all the poker sites did.

James, Ontario
said

There seems to be a consensus in the tech sector that PIPA and SOPA will have devastating consequences. While Wikipeida might be drumming up more attention at the moment, Google is the real power player. They're supporting the alternative bill, OPEN and could easily assemble an army of lobbyists big enough to freeze Washington. Point of interest: OPEN deals mainly with constraining advertising revenue for offending sites, it's likely that Google could have a role in enforcement in some cases if their bill is to be passed. Are they proposing a solution that they've already prepared for technically?This is a disappointing situation because the issues with medication IP are real problems, it's a shame the issue has gotten tangled up with this internet policing business.

Tommy
said

It's not fully shut down. You can still use Google to search for a Wikipedia topic then click the stop button as soon the page is done loading. It works with Firefox browser, not sure about others.

T. Hull
said

@Will: please don't leave us in the dark like Wikipedia has done. If we have all missed the point, would you share with us what it is?

K. J.
said

It's sad that we have to have laws to protect our creative minds. If you go against the system, if you fight the mainstream, and if you create music that expresses this point of view, you will be ripped off by those to cheap to pay for it. I'm a musician. I need this legislation to protect my work. If others wouldn't steal from me, this law wouldn't be needed. You deserve your pay at your workplace, and I deserve mine. Don't fall for Wikipedia's b.s. campaign.

Chris
said

You can still use Wikipedia. After you type in your search there is a split second where it will take you to the page you want before the screen goes black. If you click the "stop loading" button quickly enough - it will keep you on the page you want...

Aaron
said

anti-piracy legislation are you kidding me if you pay a monthly service to have interent you should be entilled to your freedom. Isn't that what the USA is always saying WE ARE IN AMERICIA FREEDOM OF SPEACH. Boy they are sure contradicting themsefls!!

Why are they not helping to fight against privacy laws to increase secuirty like Face Book which is SO overrated and has lack of security..

Matt in NB
said

I can't wait to see how this plays out... The US Gov. is trying to censor/limit the internet. I hope the people push back to tell them in one clear voice "NO" this will no be tolerated!

J. Stevens
said

This legislation won't affect Wikipedia at all. They're just supporting those that want an unrestricted internet, free to steal anything that's on it. Come on, people. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee. Quit ripping them off and there won't be any need for legislation. Musicians and filmmakers wouldn't be begging for this legislation if there weren't countless thieves ripping them off. Like you at your job, they too deserve to be paid at the end of the day. They deserve to be protected.

wallworks
said

"Sebastien Blackout? I just used Wikipedia 2 minutes ago.."The site is still accessible. They explain on their "Learn more" ...Is it still possible to access Wikipedia in any way? Yes. During the blackout, Wikipedia is accessible on mobile devices and smart phones. You can also view Wikipedia normally by disabling JavaScript in your browser, as explained on this Technical FAQ page. Our purpose here isn't to make it completely impossible for people to read Wikipedia, and it's okay for you to circumvent the blackout. We just want to make sure you see our message.

Mark J.
said

How would you like it if you spent two years creating an album and then all of your hard work is stolen by those too cheap to pay? Would you like it if you didn't get a paycheck at the end of your workweek? Artists of all kinds (music, movies, books) work hard to produce their works and deserve to reap the benefits. This legislation is designed to protect their creativity. It doesn't affect me at all. Why? Because I pay for all of my downloads. I don't expect others to work hard only to have me steal it. I'm no thief.

Manders
said

They blocked it in the states, not Canada. The US is having the debate in their government not us... at least not right now.

Jay
said

"For over a decade we've spent millions of hours..." REALLY?!?! For the world's largest encyclopedia, their math skills surely aren't up to par! Do the math yourselves: 24 (hrs) x 365 (days) x 10 (years) = 87600 hours per decade. Even if they were online for a century they'd still be short of a single million hours. One can't help but wonder... What high school dropout neglected to proof read their statement before careless posting such a gross exaggeration online as part of their protest?

Gerry
said

With Broke Obama and Saul Alinsky in the USA.this is what you will get.

B in Ottawa
said

If Wikipedia is going dark to support this legislation, it must be really bad. Wikipedia has never shut down it's entire website before, so this legislation must truly threaten its existence. I use Wikipedia all the time to look up information. People who charge it is inaccurate are wrong. I have never found a mistake when double checking facts found on Wikipedia. It's a great thing, to have a free encyclopedia that isn't teeming with user fees or advertising. I hope SOPA and PIPA are killed in the U.S. Congress and this amazing source of information is allowed to continue operating without ads and fees.

KJ in Kingston Ontario
said

f this greed driven legislation becomes law, the US be following in the footsteps of countries such as China and Iran which prefer state control of the Internet over free speech and open access -- but for even less morally sound reasons than others -- the US is doing so to enhance and ensure higher profit for their entertainment industry.

Sebastien
said

Blackout? I just used Wikipedia 2 minutes ago..

Will
said

as usual the wiki crowd miss the point and go right past panic into high speed wobble......... and yet another set of conspiracy theories is born.

Sal
said

Good for them! Wikipedia is my first source of information. Someone has to make a stand against stupidity! Although I am going through withdrawal today, I totally support them! I will aimlessly read our last encyclopidea . ;-)

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