Major websites protest Congress’ censorship bill

Photo Credit: Andy Maher

Google blacked out their logo in support of protests against SOPA and PIPA, Congress' bills to censor the internet.

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January 19, 2012

Andy Maher, Section Editor

   On Jan. 18, major websites like Wikipedia and Google shut down for 24 hours in order to protest new laws trying to be passed.

   These laws, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) essentially censor the information available online and impose harmful regulations for internet businesses.  The intention behind these laws was to stop the piracy of copyrighted material; but many websites, entrepreneurs and artists feel that if the internet were to be censored it would be a violation of their first amendment rights and ruin the unbelievable asset we call the web.

   To protest, websites like Wikipedia, Google, Craigslist and Reddit all blacked out for 24 hours.  Many more sites had pop-up banners, black censor bars, and links to online petitions against SOPA and PIPA to show discontent with the bills.

   The effects of these protests are already being felt.  Many politicians, both democratic and republican, have already reneged on their promises to vote for the bills.

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