Yesterday I joined millions of people in the biggest Internet protest in the history of the world. I hope you did too. By working together, we managed to take what seemed to be a sure-to-pass bill and severely crippled it. Over 4.5 million people signed the petition Google offered yesterday, and millions more signatures came in from Avaaz, PopVox, and other sites. Thanks to the blackouts of sites like Wikipedia, this movement finally hit the mainstream. The situation is clear: The American people overwhelmingly reject the censorship of the Internet, and the entertainment industry is going to have to try something else if they want to rake in more cash.
And Congress is listening. At least 18 politicians have done an about-face on their opinion of the bills, including several who co-sponsored PIPA. And while Lamar Smith of Texas is still standing by SOPA, Patrick Leahy of Vermont is getting wary of his bill, PIPA. And most importantly, just before the protests, an official statement from the White House made it clear that Barack Obama would not support Internet censorship.
If you haven't yet done your part to help, or if you'd like to do more, it's not too late! PIPA is scheduled for a vote on January 24, while SOPA is due for some additional reworking in February. If you haven't yet, please contact your congressmen and let them know that you prefer a free and open Internet.
Here's an article on the effects of the protest.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71562.html
This website shows who stands where on the SOPA and PIPA bills. If your congressman is still supporting this dangerous legislation (or is undecided), it's not too late to contact them and voice your disapproval!
http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/
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