Google, Facebook, Twitter, PayPal, Yahoo!and Wikipedia Coordinating possible blackout

[boston bean]

to protest SOPA!

Can you imagine a world without Google or Facebook? If plans to protest the potential passing of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) come to fruition, you won’t need to; those sites, along with many other well-known online destinations, will go temporarily offline as a taste of what we could expect from a post-SOPA Internet.

Companies including Google, Facebook, Twitter, PayPal, Yahoo! and Wikipedia are said to be discussing a coordinated blackout of services to demonstrate the potential effect SOPA would have on the Internet, something already being called a “nuclear option” of protesting. The rumors surrounding the potential blackout were only strengthened by Markham Erickson, executive director of trade association NetCoalition, who told FoxNews that “a number of companies have had discussions about [blacking out services]” last week.

According to Erickson, the companies are well aware of how serious an act such a blackout would be:

This type of thing doesn’t happen because companies typically don’t want to put their users in that position. The difference is that these bills so fundamentally change the way the Internet works. People need to understand the effect this special-interest legislation will have on those who use the Internet.

http://techland.time.com/2012/01/05/sopa-what-if-google-facebook-and-twitter-went-offline-in-protest/

The date for this is potentially January 23rd.

[justiceischeap]

1. I hope they do this and I wish other Internet giants would join them

Amazon, eBay, etc.

[boston bean]

2. And put a page that says only...

Call your Senator and Congressperson and tell them to shove this bill... well, you know, where... the sun don't shine!

[roguevalley]

21. I am in awe of the internet and the greatness of people when they try

[la la]

3. may i mention this?

i absolutely HATE paypal!11!!11!!

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. Stunning, fantastic...

[itsrobert]

5. They probably will have a link to call congress right freakin' now.

With telephone numbers and other contact information.

[tridim]

6. Great idea! But I bet their investors don't think so.

[NYC Liberal]

7. I'm sure they've weighed or are weighing the down sides to this vs the down sides to SOPA.

SOPA passing would probably be worse than a day offline in the long run.

[gateley]

39. Yes - you're right, and that may be the deciding factor unless they get the message across

that it this would ultimately hurt the stock prices.

It's always the money, isn't it?

[TBF]

8. I hope they do it -

even an hour will have people screaming like crazy.

[justiceischeap]

9. I'd be screwn. I use the Internet to make a living

and Google, Facebook and Twitter are a big part of that.

[Muskypundit]

11. Then you would be double screwn if SOPA passes

[justiceischeap]

12. I work for a non-profit organization that the Republicans want to take funding from

I'm triple screwn!

[chervilant]

43. Wow!

Any chance I can get quadrupel screwn???

[justiceischeap]

45. Probably not. :D nt

[Poll_Blind]

14. +1

PB

[TBF]

13. Many folks do - but you happen to be one who is politically aware

many may not even realize how this legislation would effect them. It would be good for them to find out before it's passed so they can help us advocate against SOPA.

[Poll_Blind]

15. I think the phone system would melt down people calling their reps!

PB

[boston bean]

16. Hopefully they would be able to find the # without google!

Maybe they need to put the Switchboard number on their protest page.

[justiceischeap]

17. I'd imagine if they did this, they'd have info about why they're doing it

and what their visitors should do.

[chervilant]

44. Actually,

I'm keeping my last "REAL" yellow pages, just in case.

The corporate megalomaniacs are perniciously and persistently eroding our rights and our resources. I fully expect them to pass SOPA or some derivation thereof. They can ill afford an informed, networked 99%.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

18. hmm, Imagine a world where for a short period of time,

people actually got off their asses, went outside and spoke face to face with other people! Seriously though, I hope they do it. It seems pretty hard for the average citizen to be heard by the government, so lets get some help from the heavy-weights.

[madrchsod]

19. there is only one way to get their point across...shut it down!

[T S Justly]

20. K&R (nt)

[Iggo]

22. They're gonna occupy the internet?

I think I'd actually like to see that.

[Cleita]

23. Really? I don't think I will miss any of them except maybe Google and frankly

there are other search engines out there so I don't think I will miss Google that much.

[slay]

26. It's the principle behind the action that is important

not the groups doing it so much - free speech on the internet will be basically dead if SOPA passes.

[Cleita]

27. Yes, that's true.

I wonder though if it will do any good with the users who count, not necessarily me.

[PVnRT]

34. The users who "count"?

What is that supposed to mean? The point of this is to get people who AREN'T that politically aware to be against SOPA, not reach those who already are. Those few sites will pretty much ensure that. So, I'm curious as to who the users who "count" are.

[Cleita]

37. The people, whose attention they are trying to get. Will it work?

I hope it does, but somehow I'm skeptical. I think something more drastic and targeted is needed.

[joshcryer]

28. Don't be a scab!

j/k

[Cleita]

29. LOL! I'll try not to.

Maybe I'll just turn the internet off when it happens.

[joshcryer]

31. If it happens I doubt it'll be long, a few minutes tops, maybe do it in a rolling-blackout way.

They cannot afford to keep it down for long. I bet Google will do it IP specific, each IP that hits it is down for 5 mins and then it comes back.

[Luminous Animal]

30. So,you support SOPA?

[Cleita]

33. No, I was just saying I wouldn't miss them.

Now if DU went down that's a different story.

[LanternWaste]

41. With the vast amount of users that Facebook and Twitter have...

With the vast amount of users that Facebook and Twitter have, I imagine it will get rather a lot of attention if they go black for even one hour.

[woo me with science]

24. K&R nt

[slay]

25. This is great news - I hope they do it

people need to know the stakes of this are HUGE. We can not let SOPA pass and if takes blacking out half the internet to protest SOPA - so be it!

[limpyhobbler]

32. These companies don't get it. Just give the money ***TO the politicians***

Money talks, Bullshit walks.

Google, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc....they haven't quite figured out how a bill becomes a law.

The movie, music, and publishing industries understand how the government works.
They gave the money to the politicians, and so now they get their law, simple.

Internet companies like Facebook, etc., they have some catching up to do.
Got to beef up the industry lobbying efforts. That's how it works.

[tavalon]

35. I had bad reading comprehension at first

and my hackles raised, especially since the companies listed have been pretty strong about net neutrality. But then I reread, and I can stand behind this blackout.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

36. No way they'll get RIM to go along

RIM (Research In Motion, Blackberry) already had a blackout. I don't think they'll want to go through that publicity again soon.

[drm604]

38. I wonder if Google will turn off everything or just the search engine.

A large number of websites use Google APIs and would have their javascript crippled it Google were to shut down their APIs.

A lot companies use Google Docs.

It would certainly send a strong message if those were shut down.

[gateley]

40. If you support this, contact these companies and let them know.

EDIT to clarify, I didn't mean you specifically, boston bean, I meant the collective DU.

[tpsbmam]

42. Brilliant! Love it and, like others, hope other "Internet giants" join in

to really cause a temporary shut-down of the Internet, essentially. But just as it is, it'll cause people to sit up and take notice and hopefully get off their asses to contact their representatives to oppose SOPA! I suspect legislators would be overwhelmed with calls because of this action.

[robinlynne]

46. Cool.

[RoccoR5955]

47. I would be swamped at work if they went through with it

During "normal working hours."
Sheesh, people would be on the phone with our Help(less) Desk like mad. I just hope they give advance notice.