Which sites are shutting down to protest sopa

But the case raised troubling questions for whistleblowers and freedom of information activists. And SOPA would give companies more power for these kinds of actions, critics say. Analysts worry that SOPA, in its extreme form, was just a political manoeuver — a way to prepare the public for slightly less severe legislation which includes many of the same tenets.

By Chris Arsenault. Published On 18 Jan How it works Under proposed legislation, anyone found guilty of streaming copyrighted material more than 10 times within six months could face up to five years in jail.

Copyright as censorship The Diebold scandal in offers an example of how companies can use intellectual property rules as a smokescreen for censorship, critics charge. More from Features. By demonstrating the severity of this legislation, these websites are displaying their views in a realistic, jarring way.

And we back their decision to do so percent, even if that means students everywhere will have to dig a little deeper when looking for sources for that paper due tomorrow. Leave a comment. Pitt News Staff :. Related Post. Worst-case scenario, you can always go "old school" and visit your local library.

Many libraries have online catalogs, so you can do a bit of research before you hit the stacks. There is already legislation that provides some protection for copyrighted material, like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act DMCA , which requires companies to remove copyrighted content "in good faith.

Worst-case scenarios are being debated. The Electronic Frontier Foundation speculates, "Instead of complying with the DMCA, a copyright owner may now be able to use these new provisions to effectively shut down a site by cutting off access to its domain name, its search engine hits, its ads, and its other financing even if the safe harbors would apply.

Chenda Ngak. It's also joined by Reddit, which will replace its usual "glorious, user-curated chaos" with a message noting its opposition to SOPA and PIPA, accompanied by links to more information about the bills and suggested ways to express your own dissatisfaction with them. The Firefox landing page will also be altered to raise awareness.

Finally, Google's search homepage is partaking in the protest by blacking out the Google logo, voicing the company's opposition to SOPA, and including a link for more information. It includes such luminaries as the EFF, xda-developers, Minecraft.

And, if you just can't live without Wikipedia for a full day, we might as well tell you that the mobile version of the site will remain active today, as first uncovered by the guys over at The Wall Street Journal. Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday! The best SOPA protest page so far, however, comes from The Oatmeal , which features a poignant animated GIF that breaks the issue down in a humorous and relatable manner.