Proteste gegen SOPA und PIPA
Vorlage:Pp-vandalism Vorlage:Selfref Vorlage:Current event

The English Wikipedia blackout was a scheduled[1] shutdown of the English Wikipedia for 24 hours on 18–19 January 2012. In place of articles, the site showed only a message opposing the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), legislation being proposed in the United States Congress.
On January 16, the blackout was announced by Wikimedia founder Jimmy Wales and Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Sue Gardner after conducting a 72-hour poll of the editing community. The general poll followed several weeks of discussion in smaller Wikipedia fora. The date was chosen to coincide with similar action by other websites, such as Reddit, and ran for 24 hours starting at 05:00 UTC (12 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) on 18 January.[2]
Background
Vorlage:Main2 The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) are bills that were introduced into the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate in the last quarter of 2011. The two bills, though different means, are designed to provide legal mechanisms for copyright holders, such as music and movie studios, to combat digital piracy that occurs on non-United States websites. Both bills are extensions of the earlier Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that enabled content producers to issue "take down" notices to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and websites to remove infringing content. While the DMCA has been considered effective for patrolling of websites within the United States, the DMCA fails to address infringement from foreign websites.[3] Part of the language of the bills when originally proposed would allow for copyright owners to issue complaints to ISPs and other major websites, like Google or Bing, requiring them to remove the hostnames of infringing sites from their Domain name registry (DNS) and to delist entries in search engines to these sites.
Many of the companies and organizations supporting the proposed legislation are content producers, such as the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America and the Entertainment Software Association, and identified the need to have such laws to combat revenue losses associated with the copyright infringement from these foreign websites. However, some lawmakers and many technology and Internet firms and associations have expressed concerns that two bills' languages are too broad, and the concept of domain name blocking and search engine removal would amount to censorship of the Internet. A common criticism of the bill addresses broad and unclear language like what entails "deliberate actions to avoid confirming a high probability" for a website. Google's policy director, Bob Boorstin, stated that a site like YouTube supporting user-generated content "would just go dark immediately" to comply with the legislation.[3]
In December 2011, SOPA was brought to the U.S. House Judicary Committee to begin the process of marking up the bill prior to introduction to the House floor.[4] During this time, numerous websites began displaying banners and messages promoting their readerships to contact Congress to stop the progress of the bill, stating that their sites would be "blacked out" should the bill pass as a law. The markup session, in which several proposed amendments to address the concerns of technology companies were defeated, was eventually put on hold prior to the end of the year, to be restarted once Congress came back in session. Several technology websites began proposing the idea of an "Internet blackout" on the same day to protest SOPA and PIPA to occur before SOPA would be voted on on the House floor as a means of further protest.[5] Reddit was the first major site to announce an "Internet blackout" on January 18, 2012, and several other sites shortly followed, coordinating actions on that day.[6] Though Senator Patrick Leahy, the main sponsor for SOPA, had stated that they would remove the controversial DNS provisions prior to the blackout date, sites continued to plan to continue with the demonstration.[7]
In January 2012, in response to concerns over PIPA and SOPA, the White House stated that it "will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global internet."[8]
English Wikipedia's response

In line with the initial voices to stage an Internet blackout in December 2011, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales called for a "public uprising" against the proposed legislation, which critics fear would threaten free speech.[9]
An initial discussion about whether this made sense was held on Wales's talk page on the English Wikipedia, before being moved to its own project page, where the means of how the blackout would be implemented was discussed, such as whether to restrict the blackout to United States users based on geolocation, or whether to simply have a single black page presented to the user prior to passing through to the site's content. Eventually, the discussion led to the choice of enacting a 24 hour blackout of the site on January 18, disabling normal reading and editing functions. A vote taken of about 1,800 editors favored the action.[10] The blocking action was purposely not complete–users could access Wikipedia content from the mobile interface or mirror sites, or if they disabled Javascript or other web browser functions.[11] Other Wikimedia projects were free to stage their own protest with the Foundation's support for any technical implementations. The German and Italian Wikipedia projects, and the Wikimedia Commons project voted to include banner images to support the blackout actions.[10]
Wikimedia Executive Director Sue Gardner posted an announcement of the Foundation's support for the blackout proposal on Wikimedia's blog. The post received over 7000 responses from the general public within the first 24 hours of its posting.[12]
Despite the majority support of those polled for the action, some Wikipedia editors blacked out their own user profile pages or resigned their administrative positions in protest of the protest; one veteran editor stated his "main concern is that it puts the organization in the role of advocacy, and that's a slippery slope".[13]Vorlage:Undue-inline
Coordination of the 18 January action
Although there were no plans to block any mobile version of Wikipedia,[14] German Wikipedia, Portuguese Wikipedia, Russian Wikipedia, Vietnamese Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons were expected to run banners on January 18, without a full blackout. Other sites indicating an intention to run banners included Google,[15] while websites planning a full blackout of at least several hours duration included Reddit, Boing Boing, A Softer World, Cake Wrecks, Destructoid, dotSUB, Free Press, Good.is, Good Old Games, little-apps.org, Mojang, MoveOn.org, Mozilla, Tucows CallAvoiders.com and TwitPic, as well as a number of other sites.[16]
Reaction
Pre-blackout
The announcement of the blackout was reported worldwide. Media that covered the story included ABC Australia,[17] CBC,[18] BBC,[19] der Spiegel,[20] le Monde,[21] Fox News,[22] Menafn,[23] News Limited,[24] Sky News,[25] The Age,[26] The Hindu,[27] The Signpost,[28] The New York Times,[29][30] The Washington Post,[31] The Wall Street Journal[32] and The Times of India. [33]
Several media organizations including The Washington Post, The Guardian, and NPR encouraged a "crowdsourcing solution for those left searching for answers" during the Wikipedia blackout by inviting users to ask questions on Twitter using the hashtag #altwiki.[34]
A Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) executive dubbed the blackout plan an example of the "gimmicks and distortion" that inflamed passions while failing to solve the problem of copyright infringement by "draw[ing] people away from trying to resolve what is a real problem, which is that foreigners continue to steal the hard work of Americans".[35] Former US Senator and MPAA Director Chris Dodd stated that the coordinated shutdown was "also an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today."[36]
Dick Costolo, CEO of social networking site Twitter, rejected calls for Twitter to join the protest saying "[c]losing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish."[37] He later clarified he was referring to a blackout of Twitter and is supportive of the Wikipedia blackout.[38]
The sponsor of the bill, Representative Lamar S. Smith, called the blackout a "publicity stunt," stating "it is ironic a website dedicated to providing information is spreading misinformation about the Stop Online Piracy Act."[39]
During the blackout
The Wikimedia Foundation reported that over 162 million people had visited the blacked-out version of Wikipedia during the 24-hour period, at least 4 million of whom used the site's front page to look up contact information for their U. S. Congressional representatives.[40] A petition created and linked to by Google achieved over 4.5 million signatures, while the Electronic Frontier Foundation reported that more than 1 million email messages were sent to Congressmen through their site during the blackout.[41]
During the day of January 18, six Congressmen who had been sponsors of the bills, including Marco Rubio, PIPA's co-sponsor, Orin Hatch, Kelly Ayotte, Roy Blunt, John Boozman, and Mark Kirk, stated that they would withdraw their support for the bills.[42] Several other Congressmen issued statements critical of the current versions of both bills.[43][44]
Post-blackout
The impact of technology companies coming together as a common goal to address Congressional action was considered significant. Yochai Benkler of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society stated that the January 18 blackout was "a very strong public demonstration to suggest that what historically was seen as a technical system of rules that only influences the content industry has become something more", further adding "You've got millions of citizens who care enough to act. That's not trivial."[45] California House member Darrell Issa called the collective effort a means of upsetting a backroom lobbying effort.[46] One Silicon Valley lobbyist said the content industry had "a lot to learn," noting that they don't have grassroots support: "There are no Facebook pages to call your congressman to support PIPA and SOPA."[47]
Newspaper editorials had mixed views. The Boston Herald called the protest a "hissy fit" by "Internet powerhouses" saying, "within hours of the online protest, political supporters of the bill... began dropping like flies, thus proving how very powerful these cyber-bullies can be."[48]
See also
- 2011 Italian Wikipedia blackout, also undertaken to oppose a proposed law.
- (Regarding recent events on Italian Wikipedia - Wikimedia Foundation)
References
- Musil, Steven: Wikipedia to join Web blackout protesting SOPA. CBS News, 16. Januar 2012, abgerufen am 16. Januar 2012.
- Rainey, James: Wikipedia blackout to protest SOPA progress in Congress. Los Angeles Times, 16. Januar 2012, abgerufen am 16. Januar 2012.
External links
Fehler bei Vorlage * Pflichtparameter fehlt (Vorlage:Wikipedia): 1
- ↑ English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout, Wikimedia Foundation, retrieved 17 January 2012
- ↑ Vorlage:Citeweb (Seite nicht mehr abrufbar.)
- ↑ a b Julianne Pepitone: SOPA explained: What it is and why it matters, CNNMoney, January 17, 2012
- ↑ Grant Gross: House Panel to Move Forward on Stop Online Piracy Act. In: PC World. 12. Dezember 2011, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Hugo Guy: Top web firms set to impose a blackout in protest against 'Big Brother' online piracy bill In: Daily Mail, December 30, 2011. Abgerufen im January 17, 2012
- ↑ Tom Cheredar: Reddit goes black Jan. 18 to protest SOPA & PIPA — Who else will join? 10. Januar 2012, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ David Kravets: Leahy Offers to Remove Net-Altering DNS Redirects in Anti-Piracy Bill In: Wired, 12 January 2012. Abgerufen im 17 January 2012
- ↑ Vorlage:Citeweb
- ↑ Vorlage:Citeweb
- ↑ a b John Sutter: Why Wikipedia is going down at midnight. CNN, 17. Januar 2012, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Sebastian Anthony: Surviving the Wikipedia blackout: Mirrors, caches, alternatives, apps, and more In: ExtremeTech, 18 January 2012
- ↑ Wikipedia’s community calls for anti-SOPA blackout 18 January Wikimedia Foundation Accessed: 17 January 2012
- ↑ Peter Svensson: Wikipedia Editors Question Site's Planned Blackout In: Associated Press, 17 January 2012
- ↑ Emily Steel (17 January 2012), Need Wikipedia Wednesday? Here’s How to Access It The Wall Street Journal Technology Blog
- ↑ Greg Sandoval, Declan McCullagh: Google plans to use home page to protest SOPA, CNet, 17. Januar 2012
- ↑ Web Goes On Strike. Sopastrike, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2011.
- ↑ Wikipedia to go dark in piracy protest. ABC Australia, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Wikipedia to go dark tonight protesting anti-piracy act. CBC, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Wikipedia joins web blackout in Sopa Act protest. BBC, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Wikipedia schaltet ab - aus Protest. spiegel.de, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Loi antipiratage : Wikipedia va fermer pendant 24 heures. lemonde.fr, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Wikipedia to go Dark 24 Hours. In: Fox News. 17. Januar 2012 .
- ↑ Wikipedia to shut down in censorship row. Menafn.com, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Wikipedia will black out for a whole day.... Oh, the horror. News Limited, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Wikipedia Blackout In Anti-Piracy Law Protest. Sky News, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Georgia Wilkins: Anti-piracy protest triggers Wikipedia shutdown. The Age, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Wikipedia to go dark against U.S. anti-piracy bill. The Hindu, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ SMasters: English Wikipedia to go dark on January 18 . 16. Januar 2012, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Jenna Wortham: Wikipedia to Go Dark on Wednesday to Protest Bills on Web Piracy. The New York Times, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Jenna Wortham: Protest on Web Uses Shutdown to Take On Two Piracy Bills, NYTimes, 17 January 2012
- ↑ Melissa Bell: Wikipedia blackout coming Jan. 18, says co-founder Jimmy Wales. The Washington Post, abgerufen am 17. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Wikipedia Plans Blackout Over Piracy Bill - WSJ.com In: The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, 17 January 2012
- ↑ Wikipedia to shut down for 24 hours - The Times of India
- ↑ David Beard (17 January 2012), Wikipedia Blackout: An #altwiki Band-Aid The Washington Post
- ↑ James Rainey, (16 January 2012) Wikipedia to go offline to protest anti-piracy legislation The Los Angeles Times
- ↑ MPAA's Chris Dodd takes aim at SOPA strike The Los Angeles Times 17 January 2012
- ↑ Vorlage:Citeweb
- ↑ Wikipedia's blackout looms | Technology | The Guardian
- ↑ Vorlage:Citeweb
- ↑ Jenna Wortham: With Twitter, Blackouts and Demonstrations, Web Flexes Its Muscle. New York Times, 18. Januar 2012, abgerufen am 18. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Corynne McSherry, Julie Samuels: Thank You, Internet! And the Fight Continues. Electronic Frontier Foundation, 18. Januar 2012, abgerufen am 18. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Andy Greenberg: Amidst SOPA Blackout, Senate Copyright Bill Loses Key Supporters In: Forbes, 18 January 2012
- ↑ Declan McCullagh, Elinor Mills: Protests lead to weakening support for Protect IP, SOPA. CNet, 18. Januar 2012, abgerufen am 18. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Sopa: US backers end support for anti-piracy bill. BBC News Online, abgerufen am 19. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Internet's dark day: Anti-piracy bills take a beating In: Seattle Times, 18 January 2012
- ↑ Eric Engleman: Google Protest of Anti-Piracy Bills Upends Traditional Lobbying In: Bloomberg L.P., 18 January 2012
- ↑ Anna Palmer and Jonathan Allen (18 January 2012), "SOPA: Libertarians, tech titans poke old-school GOPers" Politico
- ↑ "A halt to online theft" Boston Herald 18 January 2012