Today to protest against SOPA and PIPA, many Internet portals and websites display black screens to mimic blackout. Wikipedia simply shuts down for 24 hours. According to a board member of Wikimedia, they did not make that decision lightly. Instead they took it very seriously. They are clearly against Internet censorship. Here is what it says on the black screen:
"Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge
For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. ..."
I never realized until today how much impact Wikipedia has not only on the general public but also on those in Academia. This morning, soon after I arrived in the office, a faculty member anxiously asked me what had happened to Wikipedia. I had no clue. After checking out the website, I came to know what was going on. She was looking for information on a drug that is not approved by FDA yet. She tried many sources but to no avail. She claimed only the listing in Wikipedia contained the info she needed. But the page won't display today. In twitter, numorous tweets were about the blackout of Wikipedia.
Google placed a big black rectangle over the google doodle. But at least it is still searchable. Linkedin at some time of the day displayed a black popup warning before a user enters the main page. I don't know if Facebook took any action, as I don't feel it appropriate to visit facebook at working time. It seems that a virtual war between the Internet media industry and the Internet users is taking place. I hope it will not be too "violent", better none.
(Written by 倫文媽媽, Jan. 18, 2012)
