To say that Jeff Jarvis, the media blogger, journalist and author behind BuzzMachine.com, is against SOPA/PIPA, would be more than an understatement. When we connected with him to prepare for our “SOPA/PIPA Only” content for today, Jarvis made it clear that he’s as anti-SOPA as anyone could be. [More]
Every Protest Needs An Anthem And This Anti-SOPA Ditty's Got LOLcat Jokes
By 1.18.12
If only every political issue or very important cause could be explained with a song about LOLcats, maybe everyone would enjoy a higher level of understanding. Case in point: SOPA/PIPA is a big deal to those of us who enjoy the current form of the Internetz. No one wants those adorable cats to go anywhere, right? [More]
Craig Newmark Talks To Us About SOPA: "Things Can Go Bad Real Fast"
By 1.18.12
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark has been a vocal opponent of SOPA and PIPA with good reason: According to Newmark, if the bills as currently written were passed into law, “any site with any kind of user provided content could be shut down easily. For example, Wikipedia, Amazon, craigslist. Any media site with commenting.” In an email interview with Consumerist, Newmark (who is also a member of the Board of Directors of our parent company) warned that, despite White House opposition, and recent changes to the bills to limit DNS filtering, consumers should still be concerned. [More]
Cory Doctorow: Boing Boing Has Gone Dark: Here's Why
By 1.18.12
Consumerist asked Boing Boing blogger and author Cory Doctorow to contribute to our coverage of the anti-SOPA protests, and he asked us to repost his statement from Boing Boing , which we’re happy to do — especially since you can’t read it on that site today, since Boing Boing has blacked itself out as part of the protest.
Why Wikipedia Decided To Join The Blackout And Potentially Threaten Your Homework
By 1.18.12
Wikipedia prides itself on being neutral… so why is it taking itself down to protest something political? According to their official explanation of the protest decision, the members of the Wikimedia Foundation feel that “although Wikipedia’s articles are neutral, its existence is not.” [More]
SOPA/PIPA And What It Means To You: Ben Parr Explains It All
By 1.18.12
Sorting through all the SOPA/PIPA related news today is bound to get overwhelming. Sites like Wikipedia, Reddit, those in the Cheezburger network, Boing Boing, Mozilla and more are dark to protest the proposed anti-piracy laws. We’ve roped in a few industry experts and veterans to help sort out what exactly is going on here, and were lucky enough to get Mashable’s former and formidable editor-at-large Ben Parr to weigh in. [More]
Consumerist Is Against SOPA/PIPA And That's All We're Writing About Today
By 1.18.12
The editorial staff of Consumerist would like to let you know that we have chosen to suspend our normal coverage so that we can bring you news, information, and opinion concerning the proposed SOPA/PIPA legislation and why Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports and Consumerist, is against it. Inside is the letter we at Consumers Union, along with U.S. PIRG and the Consumer Federation of America, sent to several members of Congress on November 15th. [More]
