(Spork) Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Congress is set to vote on SOPA in January, and the Internet giants are considering a ?nuclear option.? DESPITE MANY PROTESTS, things are still looking pretty good for SOPA to passnext month. While every little bit helps ? things like writing to your representatives ? the NetCoalition may be pulling out the big guns. The coalition, which includes AOL, Google, Facebook, eBay, PayPal, Twitter, Wikipedia, and Yahoo! (among others), is considering a complete black-out ? temporarily shutting down their sites with a message informing visitors about the dangers of SOPA and urging them to take action before it?s too late. From CNET: True, it would be the political equivalent of a nuclear option?possibly drawing retributions from the the influential politicos backing SOPA and Protect IP?but one that could nevertheless be launched in 2012. ?There have been some serious discussions about that,? says Markham Erickson, who heads the NetCoalition trade association. ?It has never happened before.? SOPA has already received tons of backlash; for example, a massive boycott convinced Go Daddy to switch from openly supporting the bill to openly opposing it in just a few days time, during which they lost tens of thousands of customers. Still, we need a bigger alarm bell. According to the watchdog group Maplight, right now pro-SOPA contributions to Judiciary Committee members outweigh contributions from those opposed about 4 to 1. A black-out might be what needs to happen to really get the word out about just how drastically this bill will affect anyone who gets online for any reason. If you want to take action, visit AmericanCensorship.org. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy422 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 I still can't see this going through both houses and then being signed by the president. Somebody in the government has to have a little common sense left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArialBlue Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 What about all the other SOPA wannabe legislations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimLXJ Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 **snipped** Would be nice if you included the source of the article :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Star Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 What about all the other SOPA wannabe legislations? You mean Protect IP, the Senate varient of the bill? Or you mean the ones after SOPA, that will be created? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amarok Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Best thing that could happen is that Facebook stays shut down and Google and Amazon do not. =D BoneyardBrew 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bogas04 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Best thing that could happen is that Facebook stays shut down and Google and Amazon do not. =D Probably that's the only way Google+ can become popular :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Observer Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 this would be great to see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArialBlue Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 You mean Protect IP, the Senate varient of the bill? Or you mean the ones after SOPA, that will be created? "We pulled support for SOPA, now we support PIP - we are totally the good guys" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooky560 Veteran Posted January 1, 2012 Veteran Share Posted January 1, 2012 What about access to people who aren't affected by this bill or have no control over it, ie non us citizens? Will they lose access too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharpGreen Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 What about access to people who aren't affected by this bill or have no control over it, ie non us citizens? Will they lose access too? If I understand correctly, it affects non-US websites more than it does in-US websites. So they have just as much to lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladmphoto Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 ANYBODY who is in support of SOPA is an ignorant fool who needs to be restricted from society and taught a harsh lesson. Most supporters of SOPA are people that have no f-ing clue about the world around them, they just go along with others like them. The others are the pricks in the recording industries/motion-picture industries with fat wallets that think this will protect their so-called content. What these narrow-minded fools fail to realize that this will set off a cascading effect which will cripple the industry and potentially drive the U.S. economy further in the ditch as artists will lose all of their free exposure. They will once again have to pay millions for advertising and always have a middleman to handle their work. SOPA will set us back 50 years and I am not sure we'd recover from that. Many people don't care enough to educate themselves but these people should not be allowed to have a voice, yes, F*** the constitution, it doesn't take into account stupidity! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miuku. Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 ^ It may set USA back 50 years but it would most definitely be a massive boost to EU Internet services because you'd see Yahoo, Google and pretty much everyone else move their operations "here". But in all seriousness, it needs to be stopped as well as PIP - otherwise it'll fragment the net heavily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thealexweb Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 ^ It may set USA back 50 years but it would most definitely be a massive boost to EU Internet services because you'd see Yahoo, Google and pretty much everyone else move their operations "here". But in all seriousness, it needs to be stopped as well as PIP - otherwise it'll fragment the net heavily. Thats a good point, this is a massive oppertunity for Europe (Britain in particular due to the shared language) to bolster our technology sectors by assimilating Silicon Valley :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife Party Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 there is no way in hell Facebook, google and amazon are going to "shutdown". This is purely a PR stunt, worst comes to worst, they'll first wait on each other to collectively "protest" SOPA. You really think FB will shutdown and not wait for Google? Its all about the PR and getting ahead of the other rivals. SOPA doesn't affect them one bit... its the consumers who always carry the burden of idiotic legislation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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