The Lights Are Back On. So, Now What?

 If you happened to come to this blog yesterday, you undoubtedly noticed that it was blacked out in protest of SOPA and PIPA, two bills currently making their way through Congress that, if passed, would have a lasting negative effect on online communities while ostensibly working to protect American intellectual property. As written, they would empower law enforcement agencies and copyright holders to target websites that publish copyrighted material without consent, even if that content is user-generated or hosted elsewhere.  And while alarm over the infringement on creative works through the internet is indeed justifiable and palpable, the solutions offered by this pair of bills threaten serious collateral damage on discourse, innovation and creativity while doing nothing to prevent actual piracy of intellectual property.

Well, we saw what happened yesterday:  Wikipedia, Reddit and other content creators blacked out in protest to draw attention to the negative effects these bills would have if passed and enacted into law.  People were urged to contact their congressional representation and express openly their opposition to the legislation.  Senators were reversing course in their support of PIPA after constituents made their voices heard.  A victory?  Maybe.

We cared a lot yesterday and we’ll probably care less today. The internet might never forget but it suffers from a short attention span. PIPA comes up for a vote on January 24 – so do something now that the lights are back on.

Here’s a few things you can do to keep this issue top of mind:

• Donate to the Electronic Freedom Foundation.  This donor-supported NPO works to protect free speech, innovation, privacy and consumer rights out there on the interwebs. They do important work and I’m proud to support their mission
• Donate to Wikipedia
• Educate yourself and others.
• Vote with your wallet. Stop supporting companies that have openly support SOPA/PIPA.  Ask GoDaddy how they’re doing right now.
• Make noise. Connect with others and talk about the issues and how innovation will quite frankly be crippled.