Protests against SOPA and PIPA

"Web Blackout" redirects here. For the similar 1996 online protest, see Black World Wide Web protest.
Protests against SOPA and PIPA
Part of Internet censorship in the United States
An online protest by Google. On January 18, 2012, as a Google Doodle, Google placed a censor bar over their logo (the 2010–2013 logo), which when clicked took visitors to pages with information about SOPA and PIPA.
DateNovember 16, 2011 – January 18, 2012
(2 months and 2 days)
Main phase:
January 18, 2012
GoalsDefeat of proposed SOPA and PIPA legislation
MethodsOnline protests, physical demonstrations in various cities and locales
StatusEnded
Lead figures

On January 18, 2012, a series of coordinated protests occurred against two proposed laws in the United States Congress—the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). These followed smaller protests in late 2011. Protests were based on concerns that the bills, intended to provide more robust responses to copyright infringement (also known as piracy) arising outside the United States, contained measures that could possibly infringe online freedom of speech, websites, and Internet communities. Protesters also argued that there were insufficient safeguards in place to protect sites based upon user-generated content.

The move to a formal protest was initiated when Fight for the Future organized[1] thousands of the most popular websites in the world, including the English Wikipedia, to temporarily close or interrupt their content and redirect users to a message opposing the proposed legislation. Websites such as Google, Reddit, Mozilla, and Flickr soon featured protests against the acts. Some shut down completely, while others kept some or all of their content accessible. According to Fight for the Future, more than 115,000 websites joined the Internet protest.[2] In addition to the online protests, there were simultaneous physical demonstrations in several U.S. cities, including New York City, San Francisco and Seattle, and separately during December 2011 a mass boycott of then-supporter GoDaddy. The protests were reported globally.

The January protest, initially planned to coincide with the first SOPA hearing of the year, drew publicity and reaction. Days prior to the action, the White House issued a statement that it would "not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet."[3] On January 18, 2012, itself, more than 8 million people looked up their representative on Wikipedia,[4] 3 million people emailed Congress to express opposition to the bills,[2] more than 1 million messages were sent to Congress through the Electronic Frontier Foundation,[5] a petition at Google recorded over 4.5 million signatures,[4] Twitter recorded at least 2.4 million SOPA-related tweets,[4] and lawmakers collected "more than 14 million names—more than 10 million of them voters—who contacted them to protest" the bills.[6]

During and after the January protest, a number of politicians who had previously supported the bills expressed concerns with the proposals in their existing form, while others withdrew their support entirely. Internationally, "scathing" criticism of the bills was voiced from World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee,[7] as well as the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda.[8] Some observers were critical of the tactics used; the Boston Herald described the service withdrawals as evidence of "how very powerful these cyber-bullies can be."[9] Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Chris Dodd stated that the coordinated shutdown was "an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today."[10] Others such as The New York Times saw the protests as "a political coming of age for the tech industry."[11]

By January 20, 2012, the political environment regarding both bills had shifted significantly. The bills were removed from further voting, ostensibly to be revised to take into consideration the issues raised,[6] but according to The New York Times, it was probably "shelved" following a "flight away from the bill".[6] Opponents of the bills noted that they had been "indefinitely postponed" but cautioned that they were "not dead" and "[would] return".[12]

  1. ^ "SOPA petition gets millions of signatures as internet piracy legislation protests continue". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Wortham, Jenna (2012-01-19). "Public outcry over antipiracy bills began as grassroots grumbling" Archived June 20, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. New York Times. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference whitehouse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Netburn, Deborah (January 19, 2012). "Wikipedia: SOPA protest led 8 million to look up reps in Congress". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  5. ^ McSherry, Corynne; Samuels, Julie (January 18, 2012). "Thank You, Internet! And the Fight Continues". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Weisman, Jonathan (January 20, 2012). "After an Online Firestorm, Congress Shelves Antipiracy Bills". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Berners-Lee was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kroes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference heraldresponse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference doddquote was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Wortham, Jenna (January 17, 2012). "A Political Coming of Age for the Tech Industry". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  12. ^ Gardner, Sue. "Wikimedia Foundation: Statement on Jan 20 events in Washington". 2012-01-20. Wikimedia Foundation. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2012.