from CNN

SOPA 101: Your guide to the Internet blackout

January 18th, 2012

You probably woke up this morning to realize the Internet is totally screwy.

Is it the online apocalypse? Not so much. Google, Wikipedia, Boing Boing and others have gone dark, along with thousands of others, who are protesting two anti-piracy bills that are up for debate in the U.S. Congress.

It’s a debate that’s pitted the Web against Washington. And if the goal of these protests was to get people talking, that sure seems to have worked, with every media organization on the planet talking about piracy today.

Many of these sites are using creative techniques to bring attention to the two bills – one called SOPA, the other PIPA – and making very clear their viewpoint on it.

Before you panic, read our quick-and-dirty guide to these online protests.

So, what are these piracy bills about? . . . continue report

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from PCmag.com

SOPA Sponsor Calls Protests a ‘Publicity Stunt” as Google Joins in

Google on Tuesday confirmed that it too will join Wednesday’s SOPA/PIPA protest. But before you freak out about the possibility of being without Gmail, Google Search, Maps, or Google+ for a day, know that the search giant is not shutting down its services tomorrow, only raising awareness.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), meanwhile, does not appear to be going anywhere, with bill sponsor Rep. Lamar announcing today that a markup of the bill will commence in February—while also slamming the protests as a publicity stunt.

Until then, Google plans to make its opposition known.

“Like many businesses, entrepreneurs and web users, we oppose these bills because there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the Internet,” Google said in a statement. “So tomorrow we will be joining many other tech companies to highlight this issue on our U.S. home page.” . . . complete report

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more UPDATES

More Sites Going Dark Over SOPA and PIPA, But Not Twitter

Anti-piracy bills pose tough choice for vulnerable incumbents in House, Senate

A Q&A on contested Internet anti-piracy bills

SOPA/PIPA Lose More Supporters On ‘Blackout Day’

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late. . . . link