This is good news but its not over yet. Hopefully they aren't taking the popular stance now and in a bait-and-switch tactic later they quietly resume their support when they think the public has "forgotten".
Still, that's a huge sway in support in just one day of action!
To everyone who did what they can to be involved, good job! :)
But if we don't act soon, our freedom on the Internet will be taken from us.
This is our attempt to raise awareness to the on going battle against SOPA, PIPA and ACTA. I don't know if you noticed but all around the interwebs, websites are locked down or blacked out to show their protests against this very real threat.
What is the intent of SOPA/PROTECT IP?
The stated intent of the bills is to provide tools for law enforcement and copyright holders to protect their intellectual property rights.
What’s wrong with protecting copyrights?
Nothing! The devil, as they say, is in the details. PROTECT IP and SOPA will cause too much collateral damage, have a high potential for abuse, and won't even be that effective at stopping the crimes they target.
Read More details here...
I'm not in the U.S. Why does this affect me?
Many of the sites that you may use (e.g. Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, etc.) are all affected by this law and will be required to hide offending domains from you.
If a non-U.S. site is blocked in the U.S., the site could suffer financially or even be bankrupted by the loss of U.S. traffic and revenue.
What are the differences between PROTECT IP and SOPA?
At a general level, the bills are very similar. SOPA, the "Stop Online Piracy Act," is from the House of Representatives, while the PROTECT IP Act is from the Senate. Either or both bills may pass a vote in their chamber of congress on their way to becoming law. Both must be defeated to end this threat. There have recently been more detailed explanations in
an ELI5 thread and
alienth's blog post.
What about ACTA?
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, is a multi-national agreement with similar goals to the U.S.-only PROTECT IP and SOPA bills. It is criticized for many of the same reasons that PROTECT IP and SOPA are, but is also concerning because it has been drafted in secret. ACTA is not the focus of this blackout but please take the time to
learn more about ACTA
I'm not a U.S. citizen. How can I help?
You can still call or e-mail the U.S. representatives (sponsors of the bills would be a good choice). However, you may want to turn your attention more towards ACTA or other over-zealous copyright bills in your country.
You can also help by spreading awareness to everyone who are close to you.
I'm a U.S. citizen. How can I help?
Call your Senator or convince your parents to call in your behalf.
OS was unable to join the blackout due to short notice. We wouldn't want our members to experience the shock, it would be too realistic. Though in the future if there are other joint black outs, OS will participate to show our support for the cause.