Imagine a World   
   Without Free Knowledge   
      
   For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest   
   encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering   
   legislation that could fatally damage the free and open internet. For 24   
   hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. Learn more.   
      
   SOPA and PIPA - Learn more   
   From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   
   < Wikipedia:SOPA initiative   
      
      
   About the action   
      
       The Wikipedia community has blacked out the English version of Wikipedia   
   for 24 hours on January 18th to raise awareness about legislation being   
   proposed by the U.S. Congress  the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S.   
   House of Representatives, and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate --   
   and to encourage readers to speak out against it. This legislation, if   
   passed, will harm the free and open Internet. If you are in the United   
   States, let your congressional representative know what you think of the   
   proposed legislation by clicking here.   
      
       The blackout will last 24 hours - from midnight to midnight EST (05:00   
   UTC Wed to 05:00 UTC Thu).   
      
       This decision was made by Wikipedias global community of editors -- the   
   people who built Wikipedia. The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit   
   organization that operates Wikipedia, also opposes SOPA and PIPA, and   
   supports the editors' blackout.   
      
       SOPA and PIPA are real threats to the free and open Internet. Although   
   recent media reports have suggested that the bills are losing support, they   
   are not dead. On January 17th, SOPA's sponsor said the bill will be discussed   
   and pushed forward in early February. PIPA could be debated in the U.S.   
   Senate as soon as next week. There is a need to send a strong message that   
   bills like SOPA and PIPA must not move forward: they will cause too much   
   damage.   
      
       Although the bills have been amended since their introduction, they are   
   still deeply problematic. Among other serious problems in the current draft   
   of the bills, the requirement exists for US-based sites to actively police   
   links to purported infringing sites. These kinds of self-policing activities   
   are non-sustainable for large, global sites - including ones like Wikipedia.   
   The legislative language is ambiguous and overly broad, even though it   
   touches on protected speech. Congress says it's trying to protect the rights   
   of copyright owners, but the "cure" that SOPA and PIPA represent is worse   
   than the disease.   
      
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