24 hr Wikipedia blackout!!

Imagine you want to live, but cannot breathe. Imagine you want to dream but cannot sleep. Imagine you want to blog, but Blogger / Wordpress site isn't responding!! Oh yes, now you are imagining!! That's exactly what has happened to Wikipedia loyalists around the world today - me included.

Given below is the snapshot of the Wikipedia page as on 18th Jan, 2012 -

Why blackout?

Because of an act known as SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) which was introduced (not passed) in the US house last year and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act). Both are "primarily" aimed at curbing piracy and protecting IP. Prima facie, it seems to be a great idea.

What will happen if SOPA is passed?
Suppose we share a copyrighted content on our blog, video site (like YouTube) and we are caught by the law agencies, then the entire site (not just the blog page, the entire site like blogger / YouTube) will be removed from the Internet!! Shocking, isn't it? Not only that, the person who has supposedly used the copyright content will be liable for 5 yrs of imprisonment!! It will directly impact activities like blogging, tweeting, video sharing etc, stuffs that today's youth consider second only to brushing their teeth!! For example, if you want to sing a Michael Jackson song / dance to a Shakira number, that's O.K. However, if you feel like sharing it on, say YouTube, be prepared for some serious repercussions.

Is there anyone supporting the act?

There are some who are supporting the act though - the movie industry, music industry, tech companies. Basically, companies affected by piracy. Which, if you think about it, makes sense because piracy is eating into their margins. Piracy should definitely be curbed, but availability of free information / opinions should'nt be. No one supports piracy. End Piracy, Not freedom. If they had to bring this law, they should have done it before Internet and the World Wide Web became popular. Now it's too late.

For me, Wikipedia is second only to Google. Google search takes me to pages including Wikipedia. Google provides the route and Wikipedia - information! Without Wikipedia, we don't have any other relevant source for information (I know we have, allow me to exaggerate a bit). Without information, there won't be any decision making. Tough day today! These acts might not even see the light of the day. With US elections scheduled in 2012, no politician will dare to make a decision against their own people.

By the way, we can still access Wikipedia's English page

1. Let the page load and before it gets to the above screen, click on 'stop' in your browser or press 'Esc' on the keyboard.
2. The mobile version is working.

However, these are interesting stuffs happening. Lets keep our fingers crossed - and type somehow!!

PS: Can Google and Facebook take a page out of Wikipedia's book and blackout their services in India for a day in protest to what the Indian Govt is doing to them!! I must tell you, the impact will be loud and clear!!