On the off-chance that yesterday your TV was broken, your internet was out, your phone couldn’t find a signal, and not a single Facebook friend popped by for a visit, you may not know about Blackout Day and the raging debate surrounding Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
But it is far more likely to assume you saw your Facebook feed light up with encouragements to You probably Googled something and were met with the startling black censorship bar over the famous logo. You may have even gone in search of some quick information and found that Wikipedia had gone dark with a link and a box for your zip code to help track down your Senator/Representative. Or you could have visited any of the countless other sites that participated in the protest against SOPA.
SOPA, authored by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), is currently being debated in the House. At the heart of the matter is a regulation designed to prevent rogue sites and stolen digital goods. But many believe SOPA and its counterpart in the Senate, the Protect IP Act (PIPA), have gone too far in their measures. It’s a power struggle mainly between the entertainment industry, as they strive to protect themselves from piracy, and tech titans, who feel there are parts of the bill that cross the line into censorship and violate freedoms.
Amid yesterday’s explosion of interest, senators who previously supported PIPA publicly bowed out. Many others took the heat as constituents from across the country bombarded their representatives in Washington to better understand the act, its ramifications and whether their senator or representative supported the legislation. The interest was so great that or lagged due to server overload. Google’s petition amassed a 4.5 million signatures alone, while other sites quickly garnered more than 2 million signatures by midday, and Wikipedia’s by over 162 million people.
Despite the onslaught from anti-SOPA citizens, stalwart SOPA supporters as a “publicity stunt” and called it irresponsible. After the hoopla dies down, to be discussed in February with a markup in the House. The continued debate of SOPA may lead some to believe the protest was not a success, but the tech industry is chalking this one up as an easy win and calling the response In any case, TechElect firmly believes that this issue will run and run throughout 2012, and will be following the debate every step of the way.
Tell us about your experience with Blackout Day and your opinion on SOPA. What does your candidate think of SOPA and PIPA? If you don’t know, ask them! Let them know you need to hear what they think of this and other important tech issues before you vote!