Will Google, Amazon, and Facebook Black Out the Net?

FOX ^

[Sub-Driver]

Will Google, Amazon, and Facebook Black Out the Net?

By Alec Liu

Published December 30, 2011 | FoxNews.com

In the growing battle for the future of the Web, some of the biggest sites online -- Google, Facebook, and other tech stalwarts -- are considering a coordinated blackout of their sites, some of the web’s most popular destinations.

No Google searches. No Facebook updates. No Tweets. No Amazon.com shopping. Nothing.

The action would be a dramatic response to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill backed by the motion picture and recording industries that is intended to eliminate theft online once and for all. HR 3261 would require ISPs to block access to sites that infringe on copyrights -- but how exactly it does that has many up in arms. The creators of some of the web's biggest sites argue it could instead dramatically restrict law-abiding U.S. companies -- and reshape the web as we know it.

A blackout would be drastic. And though the details of exactly how it would work are unclear, it's already under consideration, according to Markham Erickson, the executive director of NetCoalition, a trade association that includes the likes of Google, PayPal, Yahoo, and Twitter.

“Mozilla had a blackout day and Wikipedia has talked about something similar,” Erickson told FoxNews.com, calling this kind of operation unprecedented.

[yup2394871293]

Works for me.

[TomServo]

heh - Atlas shrugging

[JoeDetweiler]

No problem here.

[Glenn]

Their loss.

They could just open their checkbooks to the pols like everyone else does.

[RIghtwardHo]

Good. SOPA will destroy the Internet and, effectively, turn it over to the Feds.

You KNOW something has gotta be bad when both Liberals & Conservatives want it stopped.

[Slings and Arrows]

You KNOW something has gotta be bad when both Liberals & Conservatives want it stopped.

So SOPA is now in the same group as the Westboro Baptist Church.

Hmmm, I wonder if we could spread a rumor that Fred Phelps endorses SOPA?

[ZULU]

Hope they do. SOMETHING has to get through to those million-dollars career politician numbnuts in Washington.

I suggest sending messages to Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and all the other media- harlotting politicians who are sponsoring this bill.

[ColdOne]

Interesting isn’t it? Google and Facebook in love with this WH. I am suspicious of them.

[Responsibility2nd]

“Mozilla had a blackout day and Wikipedia has talked about something similar,”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Big woop on Mozilla and Wikipedia. Who cares. But if Google, Facebook and Amazon went dark...

That would work.

[stansblugrassgrl]

I wish these folks that are fighting to keep the internet would fight this hard to keep their constitutional rights.

[af_vet_rr]

They could just open their checkbooks to the pols like everyone else does.

It'd take a lot of money on their part to get the pols to give up their chummy relationship with Hollywood or to end their desire to control the internet.

What they ought to do is say that if this passes, they'll spend a lot of money defeating every single person that supported this legislation. After all, the pols care first and foremost about staying in Congress. Threaten that, and they'll back down.

The worst thing about this is that it's being driven by a Republican from Texas. Makes me ashamed in a way.

By the way, that sonuvabitch Lamar Smith is still defending this legislation.

I did hear from some folks who are going to work on booting Smith out of Congress. It may not be the next election, but they have plans to defeat him, and they've got the money, and redistricting may help. Smith may not realize that there are some rich folks in his district and elsewhere in the state that are opposed to this legislation, and one of them told me that they will be willing to spend a lot of money to defeat him.

[Old Sarge]

First AND Second Amendments:

[JoeGar]

Similarly, I had an interesting encounter at a small town restaurant. The restaurant used to have a pianist, guitarist, harpist, etc., playing live music on Friday nights. One Friday, I asked the owner why he had no music. He told me he stopped hiring musicians because a union (AFTRA, I think) was going to charge him $5 per chair, in addition to what he paid the musician, because the musician undoubtedly would play some songs with copywrites.

[ClearBlueSky]

Incrediblle!
First we invent a way for the world to communicate and share then we frantically work to silence it.
All this with Islam looming-intending to bring back the Dark Ages.
Will this end up like the Tax Collector in the Popeye movie? People following you around taxing you for singing, talking, repeating anything ‘copyrighted’?

[4buttons]

How can they black out when they have paid advertising on their sites?

[Red Badger]

If they don’t, NetFlix will..........................

[Red Badger]

With all the Pr0n sites on the Net, will anybody notice?................

[RIghtwardHo]

LOL Oh you genius you!!!

[DesertRhino]

I like it,,, it’s time the A-holes in DC got a bitch slap. Replace their page for one day with a page explaining that congress is the cause.

A powerful weapon, to be used on VERY EXTREMELY rare occaisions. But im a nut who believes that an unregulated free net is at least as critical as the second amendment. If DC had to choose between full control of the net, or of guns, they would take the net. Without ability to spread word, fan flames, organize, spread truth, raise the alarm, etc. Guns are largely neutralized and can be mopped up one by one, as isolated “nuts”.