Why is Wikipedia blacked-out?
Wikipedia is protesting against SOPA and PIPA by blacking out the
English Wikipedia for 24 hours, beginning at midnight January 18,
Eastern Time. Readers who come to English Wikipedia during the blackout
will not be able to read the encyclopedia. Instead, you will see
messages intended to raise awareness about SOPA and PIPA, encouraging
you to share your views with your representatives, and with each other
on social media.
What are SOPA and PIPA?
SOPA and PIPA
represent two bills in the United States House of Representatives and
the United States Senate respectively. SOPA is short for the "Stop
Online Piracy Act," and PIPA is an acronym for the "Protect IP Act."
("IP" stands for "intellectual property.") 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. Detailed information about these
bills can be found in the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act
articles on Wikipedia, which are available during the blackout. GovTrack
lets you follow both bills through the legislative process: SOPA on
this page, and PIPA on this one. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a
non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the public interest
in the digital realm, has summarized why these bills are simply
unacceptable in a world that values an open, secure, and free Internet.
Why is the blackout happening?
Wikipedians have chosen to black out the English Wikipedia for the
first time ever, because we are concerned that SOPA and PIPA will
severely inhibit people's access to online information. This is not a
problem that will solely affect people in the United States: it will
affect everyone around the world.
Why? SOPA and PIPA are
badly drafted legislation that won't be effective at their stated goal
(to stop copyright infringement), and will cause serious damage to the
free and open Internet. They put the burden on website owners to police
user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of
entire sites. Small sites won't have sufficient resources to defend
themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for
their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn't being infringed.
Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won't show up in
major search engines. And, SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future
restrictions and suppression.
Does this mean that Wikipedia itself is violating copyright laws, or hosting pirated content?
No, not at all. Some supporters of SOPA and PIPA characterize
everyone who opposes them as cavalier about copyright, but that is not
accurate. Wikipedians are knowledgeable about copyright and vigilant in
protecting against violations: Wikipedians spend thousands of hours
every week reviewing and removing infringing content. We are careful
about it because our mission is to share knowledge freely. To that end,
all Wikipedians release their contributions under a free license, and
all the material we offer is freely licensed. Free licenses are
incompatible with copyright infringement, and so infringement is not
tolerated.
Isn't SOPA dead? Wasn't the bill shelved, and didn't
the White House declare that it won't sign anything that resembles the
current bill?
No, neither SOPA nor PIPA is dead. On January
17th, SOPA's sponsor said the bill will be discussed in early February.
There are signs PIPA may be debated on the Senate floor next week.
Moreover, SOPA and PIPA are just indicators of a much broader problem.
In many jurisdictions around the world, we're seeing the development of
legislation that prioritizes overly-broad copyright enforcement laws,
laws promoted by power players, over the preservation of individual
civil liberties.
How could SOPA and PIPA hurt Wikipedia?
SOPA and PIPA are a threat to Wikipedia in many ways. For example, in
its current form, SOPA would require Wikipedia to actively monitor
every site we link to, to ensure it doesn't host infringing content. Any
link to an infringing site could put us in jeopardy of being forced
offline.
I live in the United States. What's the best way for me to help?
The most effective action you can take is to call your
representatives and tell them you oppose SOPA and PIPA, and any similar
legislation. Type your zipcode in the locator box to find your
representatives' contact information. Text-based communication is okay,
but phone calls have the most impact.
I don't live in the United States. How can I help?
Contact your local State Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or
similar branch of government. Tell them you oppose SOPA and PIPA, and
any similar legislation. SOPA and PIPA will affect sites outside of the
United States, and actions to sites inside the United States (like
Wikipedia) will also affect non-American readers -- like you. Calling
your own government will also let them know you don't want them to
create their own bad anti-Internet legislation.
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.
I keep hearing that this is a fight between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Is that true?
No. Some people are characterizing it that way, probably in an
effort to imply all the participants are motivated by commercial
self-interest. But it's obviously not that simple. The proof of that is
Wikipedia's involvement. Wikipedia has no financial self-interest at
play here: we do not benefit from copyright infringement, nor are we
trying to monetize traffic or sell ads. We are protesting to raise
awareness about SOPA and PIPA solely because we think they will hurt the
Internet, and your ability to access information online. We are doing
this for you, because we're on your side.
In carrying out this protest, is Wikipedia abandoning neutrality?
We hope you continue to trust Wikipedia to be a neutral information
source. We are staging this blackout because (as Wikimedia Foundation
Board of Trustee Kat Walsh said recently), although Wikipedia’s articles
are neutral, its existence is not. For over a decade, Wikipedians have
spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human
history. Wikipedia is a tremendously useful resource, and its existence
depends upon a free, open and uncensored Internet. SOPA and PIPA (and
other similar laws under discussion inside and outside the United
States) will hurt you, because they will make it impossible for sites
you enjoy, and benefit from, to continue to exist. That's why we're
doing this.
Read more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more
