I noticed last night with Wikipedia and I think it's a great thing that these sites are doing but I am very disappointed that the biggies didn't go along too. If goolge was on strike for just one day with a "this could be what you see every day after SOPA" or facebook, that would cause a panic.
Ars did mention that Google is doing something, but no idea what that may be. SOPA is their top news item at least.
Funny, I tested out Wikipeadia's blackout by searching for SOPA. Turns out that's the only thing not blacked out!
Could SOPA end up back firing on the MPAA/RIAA? Thanks to the blackouts, we're seeing mainstream sites actually question if we should even be trying to eliminate copyright infringements at all, and instead arguing that a little bit of illegal copying is a good thing. Why Should We Stop Online Piracy? The above is something I've always said about this issue. It's very hard to pin down actual damages, but one thing is for certain, the numbers the MPAA/RIAA are floating around are ridiculous.
You have an entire wired generation focused on this issue like a laser, fighting like hell to protect their online freedoms, and it’s FUCKING REPUBLICANS who are playing the heroes by dropping support? Those goddam Democrats would rather keep collecting their Hollywood checks.... lulz
You're probably right there Metalman. But you have to admit, it costs the Republicans nothing right now to drop support because they can also reassure the MPAA/RIAA that they'd support a different yet similar law if they actually had the power to push it through. I certainly don't see any Republicans questioning the concept of copyright.
The article that was linked from the article metalman pointed at really lays out the problem. Money, power, and Congress: how lobbyists will determine the fate of SOPA Politicians are self interested and bandwidth limited. They listen to who cuts the biggest cheques and they listen to those who talk the most. While two hundred million people may have strong objections to a given piece of legislation barely one in a million will contact their congress critter on the issue and then it will be a phone call or a letter or an email and that will be all. Meanwhile, industries whose profits go disproportionately to a couple of hundred people can hire lobbyists to badger and coax politicians 24/7. Silicon Valley has similarly powerful and wealthy corporations but they have always played the "honest" game. Understanding that they have a product that people want and need, they never felt that they had to have a lobbying force. Hollywood has always known that they have a weak position and need laws to help them make money. Now, hopefully, they will see that they have made a mistake and they will put lobbyists in and start playing the game. (The content mafia still has a very strong hand to play though, in that they produce the media that people use to form their opinions on which candidates to vote for).
So, what kind of people download stuff with bit torrent anyway? Well, there are folks with Homeland Security and RIAA, naturally. Also, someone over at the office of the French President seems to like torrenting.
