Many websites like Reddit and Boing Boing have been protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act and tonight, another new media powerhouse will go dark. Wikipedia will shut down for 24 hours beginning at midnight Eastern Standard Time!
How will you ever get your homework done? Where are you going to read up on the gal Jesse Metcalfe just proposed to?
Calm down, calmn down! While our PopStop TV News team has yet to come up with an alternative source for surviving the blackout, we’ve got the reason why the ultimate online encyclopedia will shut off, and celebrity reactions on twitter.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (or SOPA) bill seeks to hold sites accountable for any illegal copyright content uploaded by any user, which would affect social networks like YouTube, Facebook, and, of course, Wikipedia. On the other side, major companies like Viacom and Walt Disney are calling internet piracy a form of digital theft.
Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, has been openly protesting against SOPA. Wales tells CNN, “Within our community we’re very strong defenders of copyright. We have very strict rules about obeying copyright and we don’t link to materials that we know to be copyright infringement. That isn’t really the issue. The other side will try to paint this as anybody who’s opposed to this must be making money off of piracy or be in favor of piracy. That isn’t true. The issue here is that this law is very badly written, very broadly overreaching and, in at least the Senate version, would include the creation of a DNS (domain name system) blocking regime that’s technically identical to that one that’s used by China.”
The announcement shook Twitterverse up with #Wikipedia hashtags! Here are some of our celebrity reactions on Twitter:
Omar Epps: “Dear Wikipedia, Until you legitimize your sources and hold yourself accountable for falsities and misinformation, you really won##Q##t be missed at all. Sincerely, Me”
Steven Fry: “Good for Wikipedia. Ashamed to work in an industry many of whose leaders have tried to push this revolting law through”
The Daily Show: #TDSBreakingNews Wikipedia to shut down for 24 hours. Or that##Q##s what we read on Wikipedia. #CantTrustThatSite
Stephen Colbert: Wikipedia will go dark in protest of SOPA. Now where am I supposed to find inaccurate information about SOPA?
Eric Balfour: SAVE FREE SPEECH AND INTERNET! RT!!!
Fail Whale: Wikipedia is shutting the site down!!! I guess libraries are making a comeback. #Wikipediablackout
Check back for more celebrity tweets!
What do you think about Wikipedia shutting off for 24 hours to protest against SOPA? Sound off below!
