I live in Canada and although these bills are before the American Congress they will have a massive effect on us here in Canada too if they are passed.
I am reposting some content from https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/.
Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.
The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.
Here are a few notable websites who have “blacked out” for the day in protest.
From reddit.com:
“These bills provide overly broad mechanisms for enforcement of copyright which would restrict innovation and threaten the existence of websites with user-submitted content, such as reddit.
Please take today as a day of focus and action to learn about these destructive bills and do what you can to prevent them from becoming reality.”
From Wikipedia
“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. Learn more.”
Opposition to the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) grows with each day. This brief list is just a sampling of businesses. Visit the Center for Democracy and Technology’s list for a more complete look at the individuals, organizations, experts and legislators that know how bad this legislation could be.
Seldom has a piece of proposed Internet legislation evoked as much as outcry and debate as the Stop Online Piracy Act. Over the last few weeks, hundreds of consumer and technology groups, industry associations, trade unions, free speech groups, security experts, academics and Web companies have ranged themselves on both sides of the debate.
Jaikumar Vijayan wrote a great blog post on Computerworld yesterday and even included a link to the bill.
You can read the full article here: http://blogs.computerworld.com/19286/why_sopa_deserves_a_closer_look?source=CTWNLE_nlt_wsmgnt_2011-11-17
