Just to inform you that tomorrow (wednesday jan. 18th, 2012), some of the links on my blog might not work due to Wikipedia’s one-day blackout, in protest against SOPA (and I use Wikipedia a lot as a great resource to learn from myself, and to point to my readers for more information on certain topics).
I think Wikipedia touches a true problem; governments (pushed by lobbyist groups) are pushing for an internet where you have to be cautious about what you say or publish. Best case, you might get blacklisted. Worst case? Figure it out for yourself.
I live in the Netherlands and currently something similar is going on about organizations trying to restrict people accessing certain information sources (in this case, the Pirate Bay). Whether Pirate Bay (or any other source of information for that matter) violates the law, or not, is (IMO) a different discussion. But if people (or organizations) want to restrict access by ordering ISP’s (information service providers, a.k.a. the mailman) to blacklist those sites (i.e. check your mail for offending content) instead of chasing the publishers of illegal materials of any kind, then we are well on our way to a different internet. An internet that is no longer free. I strongly oppose to that.
So, Wikipedia (and others), you have my full support.
Click the “STOP SOPA” banner (top right hand corner) if you want to learn more.
More info:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/fight-blacklist-toolkit-anti-sopa-activists
https://www.eff.org/search/site/sopa
