Wikipedia, Reddit and Wordpress Among Sites to Protest Controversial Measure

Popular websites such as Wikipedia, Mozilla, Reddit and Wordpress weren't available to visitors who frequent them on Wednesday.

The sites were among the more than 7,000 who voluntarily planned “go dark” in a protest against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act, reported the Huffington Post.  Google also vowed to join in the protest, but not by shutting down.  The popular search engine site instead announced that it would change its home page to show its support of the cause, according to the Huffington Post.

The bill has raised the ire of Internet entrepreneurs, corporations, and tech activists.  If passed, the legislation would enable the federal government to shut down web domains if it believes sites to be associated with piracy.  The bill would not require a trial or a traditional hearing to make that decision, which opponents argue would give the federal government Internet censorship powers that some detractors compare to China’s, the Huffington Post reported.

Industries in support of the measure – major record companies, film studios, trial attorneys, and pharmaceutical giants – see the bill as a way to protect them against piracy.

To read the proposed bill, click here.

Related Topics: Google, Reddit, SOPA, Stop Online Privacy Act, Wikipedia shutdown, and wordpress Do you think this piracy bill will do more harm than good? Or is it an effective way to stop piracy?