It’s going to be a quiet day on the internet on January 18th. Imgur has just announced that it will be joining Wikipedia and Reddit by blacking out its site in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA).
Imgur writes:
“Imgur stands in solidarity with Reddit, Wikipedia, Google, The White House and countless other groups that oppose HR 3261 (SOPA) and United States Senate Bill S.968 (PIPA). SOPA is not dead; it has been shelved and won’t return “until a consensus is reached,” according to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA). The fight against Internet censorship continues as the Senate vote for PIPA is still scheduled for Sunday. It is important that our users understand the far-reaching and potentially disastrous repercussions that this legislation could have on the vibrancy and freedom of the Internet.”
Reddit announced last week that it was starting a boycott in protest of the anti-internet legislation. Other sites, like Wikipedia, have joined the blackout and several sites are running messages on their front pages warning internet users about the danger of SOPA.
The White House even released a statement saying that it would oppose any legislation that would alter the “dynamic web.”
Imgur will be blacking out its image gallery on January 18th from 8am-8pm EST. The site will instead host a message about “how the PIPA/SOPA legislation threatens sites like Imgur with methods to take action.”
You can read a statement regarding SOPA from Reddit , from Wikipedia , or from the White House here .
Do you think the January 18th blackout will have an impact on SOPA and PIPA?