SOPA!

January 18, 2012 4:03 pm

I'm sure you've noticed that today Subeta, and lots of other sites are protesting SOPA.

I touched on it lightly a few weeks ago, but SOPA (and it's senate alternative PIPA) are bills currently in development in the United States that would kill artistic freedom, and really the whole internet as we know it. Imagine if SOPA had passed five years ago, youtube would have never existed and you wouldn't have some of the most awesome videos wouldn't have ever existed. DeviantArt, Twitter, Tumblr, and most importantly, Subeta could never exist under SOPA/PIPA.

So please, Take Action today. Call your senator and your congressional representative and tell them that how you feel about SOPA. If this is your first call to a representative, here is a handy guide!

If you aren't American, here is what Wikipedia says that you can do!

I don't live in the United States. How can I help?
Contact your local State Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or similar branch of government. Tell them you oppose SOPA and PIPA, and any similar legislation. SOPA and PIPA will affect sites outside of the United States, and actions to sites inside the United States (like Wikipedia) will also affect non-American readers -- like you. Calling your own government will also let them know you don't want them to create their own bad anti-Internet legislation.

I suggest watching this video as well!

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Sadly, it's not even over yet. Check out the much more threatening international ACTA. x.x We fought a good fight against SOPA and PIPA, but we can't stop now.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

http://www.pcworld.com/article/248468/congress_puts_sopa_pipa_on_hold.html

The internet protests have worked - SOPA/PIPA put on hold indefinitely because of site blackouts :D

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

it's a bitter bitter idea in a thin sweet candy coating. to paraphrase Walter from the Jeff Dunham specials you enjoy it for a bit then suddenly you're so shocked by the grossness and end up spiting it out...then you're dumb enough to try the next flavor >_<

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I would not be a happy camper id DeviantArt or any other websites for expressing artistic ability were shut down. I doubt I'm the only one who would go crazy.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

free speech? my ass! and now trying to censor the internets? ... were is anonymous if you need them x'D

now really, they tried to censor the internet some years ago too and failed... they won't win, don't worry, kids =))

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

It was nice to see that Subeta participated (at least partially) in blacking out. Now I'll keep this 'censoring the web' HA for a few days.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Thanks for being awesome and trying to save the world Keith!

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I find it appropriate that the word sopa means garbage in Swedish!

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Thanks for bringing it up Keith. :) I've called my senator and left a message... and sent him an email. I hope that SOPA and PIPA get dragged down where they belong!

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Thanks for link for none Americans as well. I will do whatever I can to stop this. They are doing exactly the same thing as China. They only name it differently.

Btw, the english version of wikkipedia was down for one day because of their protetst against sopa and laws like it.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

ridiculous. and also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIuYgIvKsc

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Thanks for the non-american petition's link!..signed it and shared in facebook too...I hope we can do something against this all idiocy ><

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Good post, Keith -- thanks for raising awareness of this lunacy. I was reading an article earlier today which talked about a lot of the groups that have come out against the bills. And I'll say this: when huge internet corporations and free-software hippies (among whom I count myself) and the Department of Homeland Security and civil liberties groups all think your proposed bill is crap, you should seriously consider backing away from it slowly and killing it with fire.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

My mom just showed me this, and it really made my day: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16623831

Keep up the awesome work, everyone! 83 ❤️

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

thanks for the links. I'm Canadian, but I'd like to do all I can. Just imagine what they'll try to ban next!?

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

a black protest ribbon would be a great idea for the accessory shop :)

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

these bills, they definitely need to nott pass. but avpm<3

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I managed to miss that! Thank you so much for telling me! I will definitely make sure to keep that in mind when mentioning anything about sites and their statements.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Actually, Mark Zuckerberg (creator of FB) put up a long message about how he and the rest of facebook oppose SOPA/PIPA

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Thank you, Subeta, and Keith, for being upfront and aware and proactive on this kind of issue.

I've been impressed with my most-visited sites for getting the word out on this issue. (Other than Facebook itself, but hey, who ever expects Facebook to get personally political?)

I've put notices out on all of my social networking sites... blacked out for the day in some cases... and contacted my local representatives. I encourage others to do the same (the last part, at least). ❤

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

|||| |||||||||| ||||||||| ||||||||||||||| ||| insane!! I'm not even joking.

Anyway thanks for the |||||||| links, and for supporting the |||||||| against |||||||||||||||||.

~Paks.

(please excuse my failed code below -- I'm new here). ;o

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

&;&;&; &;&;&;&;&;&; &;&;&;&;&;&; &;&;&;&;&;&;&;&;&;&; &;&; insane!! I'm not even joking.

Anyway thanks for the &;&;&;&;&; links, and for supporting the &;&;&;&;&; against &;&;&;&;&;&;&;&;&;&;.

~Paks.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

What has democracy become 8U

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I'm glad that Subeta is saying something about this, because it is a huge concern. If SOPA and/or PIPA go into effect the internet will pretty much be done with. There are better ways to combat the issues of pirating and these 2 acts are not anywhere near a good solution.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I been working my ass off to promote why this shouldn't pass.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I suggest some people take a peek at this video. That said, it makes me happy to see so many people participating in this.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

doah. and just to clarify.... I understand that it's not entirely wrong.... but I think there's a right way and a wrong way to stop issues like Piracy.... and this is definitely the wrong way.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Keith** -derp-

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

who the hell even came up with this bill? -headdesk- I have yet to see anyone who supports it, and best I can tell it would make it next to impossible for ANY website to function..... doesn't this hinder freedom of speech or something? L-L

Canada looks better every day. I kindof feel bad that they're tagged onto the US land-wise. x.x; ( I'm a US citizen by the way. ) I really hope they'll listen to our protests.... thank-you Kieth! ❤️

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I sent a email to EVERY Representative in Colorado, please do the same!

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I'm so glad we are taking part in this. I love Subeta for doing its part. I forgot about it, until yesterday night I tried to Wiki something and found the site blacked out.

This is great!

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I have signed all the petitions I could find and posted links on different sites that I use. I've brought awareness to many of my friends and family members who are now re-posting for their friends and families. Hopefully this huge support will help the bill to not pass.

If any of you are still questing what SOPA/PIPA is & what they can/could do, read this article: http://gizmodo.com/5877000/what-is-sopa

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

If this passes, I will lose all faith in the American government. And possibly move to Canada.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Love it.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Not easy to contact the UK government and actually get them to read what you've sent them, but I signed a petition a while back about this. Hopefully it won't come to pass, or the internet will be a completely different place. :c

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I've signed every petition I can find, I've written letters to all my Congresspeople and Representatives. I don't spend real money online, so at least I feel a bit safe with that. X3 I'll do all I can to help stop this!

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Signed the petition for non-US citizens.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

- there are plenty of regular internet users like you and myself who are supporting it because they believe that these bills will effectively put an end or at least a noticeable stop to piracy, especially as the bills are re-written over and over and over again (which is simply not true). i have been looking through differing opinions all day to see what is being said and it's appalling that people are equating downloading a song to shoplifting from a store ala winona ryder. i am not necessarily pro-piracy, but this is not the way to combat it if we are going to fight it at all, especially when a good number of the sources happen to be overseas, where piracy laws do not exist or they are not strongly enforced. i will admit that i do my fair share of downloading, but from what few websites i do use, although i'm not 100% sure, i'd be highly amused, if anything, to learn that someone is making a profit on my behalf. (i say this because i haven't signed up for an account, i rarely click on ads, etc. i could be wrong, but these are the things that make the money for streaming/torrent/file hosting companies and services, probably not the actual downloads themselves.)

in any case, the outcry against this nonsense has been enormous. hopefully the representatives who actually DO represent our interests in these matters can make a difference, and it's good to see that there have been a few more withdrawing their support from SOPA + PIPA in the last few weeks. as americans we have a thing called the constitution, and we must do all we can to see that the rights that it provides us are upheld.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Signed.Thanks for spreading awareness Subeta! :)

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

thank you, Keith, for responding to this. It didn't came as a surprise but it still pleases me. Hope you Americans can keep those bills down, and I'll try my best to fix our issues here!

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Good one, Keith! its other way to help for the ones who arent from United States. Really, i hated too much this thing of the SOPA and other thing .: really...its too much **** they try to put rules to the internet, hell .. its the same to try to put a list of rules of useless things .. I will take a look about the information about this, i know in case of United States be affected, all hosted by it will be censord bad word .. puff >.< really cant found the usefull of a stupid kind of law like this one xD really >.<

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I've done everything I could to raise awareness. I have signed every petition I could find, shared articles on facebook, and sent e-mails to my state representatives. This needs to be stopped.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Just self froze on Neopets because Viacom supports SOPA. I've sent in letters and calls, signed whatever I could. I buy neocash, and premium service, and I can't support something that supports this.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

I'm an American and I've signed a petition and I'm about to call my representative to tell them how I feel. I've shared videos and links to information and petitions on facebook and through email to the people I know. Thank you Keith for also sharing this information here where it will reach even more people. I am glad that many other popular websites such as Google, 9gag, and RazerZone are spreading this awareness as much as they can.

For those of you who are American and want to sign a petition you can trust, Google has one linked to it's name when you go to the website. It also happens to be linked in the main post above(where Keith says "Take Action"), if you didn't notice the link the first time through.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Haha, Subeta would especially get ban-hammered with a quickness.

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by

Thank you SO much for posting this on Subeta today, Keith. Although I have been vaguely aware of these issues, I have actually been on subeta for about 12 hrs today and not paying much attention to the world, so I'm very glad that you posted. (My husband, way too young, 55, died suddenly 10 days ago, and today is the first day that I've felt relaxed enough to well, just relax and play, so that's my excuse for being out of touch.) But I DID know about it, and as I said, I truly appreciate the update and the support of others here....especially those of you who are not from the U.S. THANK YOU!! I live in California, though my home state is Wisconsin where they're now trying to recall the awful governor, but here we are fortunate to have two Senators who've been in office for years who are both Democrat, liberals, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinnestein (whose name I'm probably butchering)...but being a Democrat is not necessarily enough, so I need to look into this. So, THANK YOU again, for posting about it in the news, cause I rarely go on forums, and I ALWAYS read the news on Subeta!! :)

December 31, 1969, 7:00 pm by