If you’ve been on the old internet machine lately you’ve undoubtedly been exposed to the explosive dialogue surrounding the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protecting Intellectual Property Act. Today (January 18, 2012) there were more than 2.4 million tweets about the controversial bill and dozens of notable websites blacked out some or all of their content in protest.
Wondering why Wikipedia went dark today? Step out from that Wi-Fi-less cave you’re living in and take a gander at what’s going on. Opinions aside, we’ve gathered a sample of the dialogue to keep you in the know about a piece of legislation that could change the face of the internet forever.
- First and foremost, read the actual bill for yourself to see what government officials are proposing.
- Legal language too much for you? Here’s a programer’s take on what the legislation means.
- For a balanced look at who’s for and against the bill, check out NPR’s Q&A: Congress, SOPA and A Fight Over The Web.
- Here’s how the internet community answered Wikipedia’ blackout: with a campaign from multiple media outlets to create a one-day substitution for the internet mainstay. Among others, the Washington Post, the Guardian and NPR joined efforts to answer the World Wide Web’s random queries via crowdsourcing using the hashtag #altwiki.
- What’s a cause without a bit of celebrity backing? Here’s an open letter from Aziz Ansari, Andy Samberg, Trent Reznor and many other notorious names denouncing PIPA and SOPA.
- Words aren’t your thing? This infographic from Google breaks down the implications of the acts using pretty pictures and numbers.
What do you think about the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act? Share your thoughts below or hit us up on Twitter.
Have an opinion that wasn’t represented in the articles above? Share links to blogs or articles and we’ll gladly add them to this post.
