A blackout of the internet?

[Graham Kennedy]

Source

In the growing battle for the future of the Web, some of the biggest sites online -- Google, Facebook, and other tech stalwarts -- are considering a coordinated blackout of their sites, some of the web’s most popular destinations.

No Google searches. No Facebook updates. No Tweets. No Amazon.com shopping. Nothing.

The action would be a dramatic response to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill backed by the motion picture and recording industries that is intended to eliminate theft online once and for all. HR 3261 would require ISPs to block access to sites that infringe on copyrights -- but how exactly it does that has many up in arms. The creators of some of the web's biggest sites argue it could instead dramatically restrict law-abiding U.S. companies -- and reshape the web as we know it.

Interesting...

[Mikey]

That's nothing. If www.ditl.org shut down, then the world would end.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

I've been following this debate online for some weeks now. Some claim it's more about censorship than controlling piracy, though as a means to achieve the latter the bill is like using a nuke to swat a mosquito. It is not a balanced solution to the issue. Proponents of the bill are the usual suspects (recording and movie industries) and are wealthy and influential if more limited in number than the opponents. These include not only free speech advocates like Al Gore but virtually every major tech company. Even Microsoft seems to be against the bill, though in much more muted fashion than the likes of Google or Facebook.

Internet security firms doubt the bill would stop piracy so much as force it deeper underground, which raises their fears of increased malware and online criminal activity as a result, since more pirates would gravitate toward less secured places on the web.

[stitch626]

This won't stop piracy at all. Block a site, someone makes a workaround. This will do nothing except make it harder to fight piracy.

[Griffin]

I hope they do it, should get people more aware of the situation.

BTW, if you don't know what we're talking about I urge you to watch this.

[Teaos]

Would it just be US or world wide? I can't see them being able to effect sites hosted and viewed out of the states.

[Mikey]

Doesn't matter what your geographic location is - if Google shuts down, you won't be able to use Google from New York, Christchurch, or Timbuktu.

[Jim]

I like this idea. It is a bold stance being taken by the sites. Step 2 would be to continue to opperate, but block sales of the companies that are pushing for SOPA. Amazon would go a day without allowing sales of certain companies movies or music, google would not give those companies as results in searches, etc etc etc. The rest of the sites would be up and fine... but selective blocking.

[Teaos]

That seems a bit militant to me... AGREE WITH US... OR ELSE!!

[Jim]

Well, that is the tactic that the people pushing for the new laws uses so this would simply be showing them what they deserve.

[Mikey]

That seems a bit militant to me... AGREE WITH US... OR ELSE!!

That's actually the tactical mindset of every activist for every cause in the history of ever, left or right.

[Teaos]

But usually not so blatantly, maybe its just becasue of the size and power of those companies it seems more extreme...

[Griffin]

Which companies? The ones backing SOPA, or Facebook, Google etc.

[Teaos]

Google ect. Usually protesters are the under dogs... not the pitballs...

[Griffin]

But this is the sort of thing that could actually happen if SOPA passses.