Getting Smart Opposes PIPA and SOPA

The Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House have the potential to censor the Web, pose harmful regulations on businesses, and hurt economic growth and innovation. Internet giants like Google, eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and others are taking a stand against the bills today by generating awareness campaigns and “blacking out.”
Google placed a black censor bar over its logo that says, “Tell Congress: Please don’t censor the web!” Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg released an official statement against the bills and Internet censorship. Wikipedia is running a SOPA InitiativeWired Magazine has censored the majority of its front page content. Many other organizations have temporarily shut down their websites in protest.

“PROTECT IP and SOPA could create very real problems for Internet companies like ours that are a primary driver of innovation, growth, and job creation in the 21st century economy,” says Facebook.
Nearly all protestors agree piracy should be stopped, yet feel that PIPA and SOPA would fail to effectively stop piracy and instead hurt American business. This is why they’re urging Congress to consider alternatives like the OPEN Act, which keeps the Web free of censorship.
The ripple effect of this bill has already had an impact. Co-sponsors of the bills, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Arizona Rep. Ben Quayle, recently backed out of their support.
Getting Smart stands with the millions of Internet users, entrepreneurs, businesses, human rights organizations, and professors who oppose PIPA and SOPA.
Read more about PIPA and SOPA.

Getting Smart Staff

The Getting Smart Staff believes in learning out loud and always being an advocate for things that we are excited about. As a result, we write a lot. Do you have a story we should cover? Email [email protected]

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2 Comments

Dan Froelich
1/18/2012

I have been happy to see the overwhelming support against SOPA as I spent my workday scouring the internet. I can only hope that this virtual riot turns into feet on the ground, leading to our legislators realizing the errors of their ways. Just early today, I was talking to some of your guest bloggers about how this was a timely matter that needed to be addressed by Getting Smart. I didn't get beyond the draft before work pulled me away. Thanks for covering this Sarah.

Sarah Cargill
1/18/2012

Thanks for stopping by Dan! We appreciate your support. I'd still like to see your draft when you get a chance.

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