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Journalism and creative work from Chicago's next generation of storytellers

Who Owns the Internet? SOPA, PIPA, Communication, Democracy and Your Congressmen

Chicago Talks, January 18, 2012

Have you wondered about the logos covered up today and the Wikipedia‘s “disappearance.” Educate yourself, and then contact your elected representatives. Who should control what the important public resource, the Internet — the public and public interest, or private corporations?

lolcats sopa protest
LOL Cats at icanhazcheezburger.com goes dark to protest SOPA

If icanhazcheezburger (aka LOL cats) takes this seriously, shouldn’t you?

When you are ready to take the simple action of writing to your elected representatives about the need for the internet to operate to serve democratic interests and not the needs of large corporations, go to Wikipedia and watch it fade out as it links you to your representatives.

The BBC website reports that “Thousands of internet sites are taking part in a “blackout” protest against anti-piracy laws being discussed by US lawmakers…The Motion Picture Association of America has branded the action as “irresponsible” and a “stunt”…Visitors to Wikipedia’s English-language site are greeted by a dark page with white text that says: “Imagine a world without free knowledge… The US Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia.”

 

Check out the variety of sites that have issues with Sopa and Pipa:

See a gallery of SOPA protest images
Why isn’t Twitter shutting down?
Related articles
  • English Wikipedia Will Be Blacked Out Globally To Protest SOPA and PIPA (sociableblog.com)
  • SOPA, PIPA: What you need to know – CBS News (cbsnews.com)
  • Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales Talks To CNN About SOPA and PIPA Faults [Video] (inquisitr.com)
  • Websites go dark at start of SOPA/PIPA protest (digitaltrends.com)
  • Google Protests SOPA And PIPA By Censoring Logo, Offering Information And A Petition (inquisitr.com)
  • Stop SOPA/PIPA (angelaquarles.com)
  • What’s SOPA Wrong With PIPA Anyway? (legaljunck.wordpress.com)
  • Poll: Where do you stand with regards to SOPA/PIPA? (news.ycombinator.com)
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