Why Wikipedia blacked out for a day

Access to Wikipedia has been blacked out for a day in protest against highly controversial US statute being pushed through the US Congress next week.

The Stop Online Piracy Act [SOPA] and Protect Intellectual Property Act [PIPA] have been widely criticised for infringing on the freedom of websites across the globe as the US government seeks to quell illegal access to copyrighted material on the Internet.

But why have the proposed laws inflamed the online community?

SOPA and PIPA

Put simply, SOPA and PIPA are an attempt to hold the Internet to account on copyrighted material that is illegally linked to, or hosted on websites. Particularly this relates to international sites that allow copyrighted material to be downloaded or streamed through torrents. With the enactment of SOPA and PIPA the US government would be able to ‘attack’ by forcing American advertisers, search engines and payment services to cut all ties with the rogue sites.

The finer details of both statutes have come under fire after many feared it would impact upon the freedom of the Internet, as well as the potentially damaging effect it could have upon smaller sites unable to afford legal costs. Wikipedia’s ‘free editing’ setup would also be impacted by the change.

“SOPA and PIPA are badly drafted legislation that won't be effective in their main goal and will cause serious damage to the free and open Internet,” said a Wikipedia statement. “These bills are efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by foreign web sites, but in our opinion, they do so in a way that actually infringes free expression while harming the Internet.”

War on copyright infringement

SOPA and PIPA are part of a wider war on copyright infringement launched by the US government after a number of film and media studios issued concerns that online access to copyrighted material was costing them billions.

President Obama’s intellectual property enforcement coordinator, Victoria Espinel, issued a report in March 2011 which ramped up efforts to stop online copyright infringement after it was found that “foreign-based and foreign-controlled Web sites and Web services raise particular concerns for US enforcement efforts”.

The crackdown also saw the US order the extradition of British student Richard O’Dwyer, who could face prosecution over his site TVShack. Though not directly hosting pirated material, TVShack served as a search engine for illegal streams and O’Dwyer courted the attention of US authorities after he made thousands from the site. His extradition is a turning point for the US war on copyright infringement, hastened by SOPA and PIPA which will be voted on within the House of Representatives on 24 January.  

Loopholes to the blackout

As well as Wikipedia, sites Reddit and boingboing have opted to black out their sites for a day to protest against both bills. Google have also shown opposition to the plans by covering their logo with a dark strip, though fell short of blacking out the entire site. Wordpress similiarly blacked out sections of their site, while Flickr allowed the option to hide images in protest.

Users have found that Wikipedia is not entirely blacked out, with the mobile app still active and the main site available by disabling Javascript. There again such measures are an extreme way to access the site, though Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tipped his hat at those who perhaps rely on it too much by tweeting on Monday: “Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday!”