(Wikipedia)
The world's biggest websites are calling for a day of dramatic action Wednesday against a piracy-prevention lawsuit that many fear will reshape the Internet as we now know it.
Google is the latest site to throw its weight into Wednesday's battle against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives designed to crack down on sales of pirated U.S. products overseas. Critics say the legislation could hurt the technology industry and infringe on free-speech rights, arguing that it could weaken cyber-security for companies and hinder domain access rights.
"There are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the Internet," Google spokeswoman Samantha Smith told FoxNews.com. "So tomorrow we will be joining many other tech companies to highlight this issue on our U.S. home page."
The company plans to add a link on its home page to an anti-SOPA information site, according to CNET. And Wikipedia plans even more dramatic action, announcing Monday that it will black out the English language version of its website Wednesday in protest.
"If passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and bring about new tools for censorship of international websites inside the United States," the Wikimedia foundation said.
Supporters of the bill include the film and music industry, which often sees its products sold illegally. They say the legislation is needed to protect intellectual property and jobs.
The most controversial provision would have enabled federal authorities to "blacklist" sites that are alleged to distribute pirated content. That would essentially cut off portions of the Internet to all U.S. users. But congressional leaders appear to be backing off this provision.
Craig Newmark, the founder of the popular site craigslist, on Tuesday joined the fight against what he called "a really bad law coming out of Washington."
“[SOPA and its Senate counterpart Protect IP] allow people with lots of money, and lots of lawyers to take down Internet sites they don’t like by exploiting some loopholes and lack of oversight,” he said in a video screened during a hearing in Washington, D.C.
Tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter, eBay, AOL and others have spoken out against the legislation as well, arguing that it threatens the industry's livelihood. Several online communities such as Reddit, Boing Boing and others have announced plans to go dark in protest as well.
The Obama administration also raised concerns about the legislation over the weekend and said it will work with Congress on legislation to help battle piracy and counterfeiting while defending free expression, privacy, security and innovation in the Internet.
Wikipedia's decision to go dark brings the issue into a much brighter spotlight. A group of Wikipedia users have discussed for more than a month whether it should react to the legislation.
Over the past few days, a group of more than 1,800 volunteers who work on the site and other users considered several forms of online protest, including banner ads and a global blackout of the site, the foundation said. Ultimately, the group supported the decision to black out the English version of the site.
Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia who first announced the move on his Twitter account Monday, said the bills are a threat to the free, open, and secure web.
"The whole thing is just a poorly designed mess," Wales said in an email to The Associated Press.
Wikipedia is also requesting that readers contact members of Congress about the bill during the blackout.
"I am personally asking everyone who cares about freedom and openness on the Internet to contact their Senators and Representative," Wales said. "One of the things we have learned recently during the Arab spring events is that the Internet is a powerfully effective tool for the public to organize and have their voices heard."
Wikipedia will shut down access from midnight Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday night until midnight Wednesday.
This is the first time Wikipedia's English version has gone dark. Its Italian site came down once briefly in protest to an Internet censorship bill put forward by the Berlusconi government; the bill did not advance.
"Wikipedia is about being open," said Jay Walsh, spokesman for the Wikimedia foundation. "We are not about shutting down and protesting. It's not a muscle that is normally flexed."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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