Google, Amazon, Facebook may shut down to stop SOPA

By Michelle Schusterman On December 30, 2011 · 80 Comments

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Congress is set to vote on SOPA in January, and the Internet giants are considering a ‘nuclear option.’

DESPITE MANY PROTESTS, things are still looking pretty good for SOPA to pass next month. While every little bit helps – things like writing to your representatives – the NetCoalition may be pulling out the big guns.

The coalition, which includes AOL, Google, Facebook, eBay, PayPal, Twitter, Wikipedia, and Yahoo! (among others), is considering a complete black-out – temporarily shutting down their sites with a message informing visitors about the dangers of SOPA and urging them to take action before it’s too late. From CNET:

True, it would be the political equivalent of a nuclear option–possibly drawing retributions from the the influential politicos backing SOPA and Protect IP–but one that could nevertheless be launched in 2012.

“There have been some serious discussions about that,” says Markham Erickson, who heads the NetCoalition trade association. “It has never happened before.”

SOPA has already received tons of backlash; for example, a massive boycott convinced Go Daddy to switch from openly supporting the bill to openly opposing it in just a few days’ time, during which they lost tens of thousands of customers.

Still, we need a bigger alarm bell. According to the watchdog group Maplight, right now pro-SOPA contributions to Judiciary Committee members outweigh contributions from those opposed about 4 to 1.

A black-out might be what needs to happen to really get the word out about just how drastically this bill will affect anyone who gets online for any reason. If you want to take action, visit AmericanCensorship.org.

About The Author

Michelle Schusterman

Michelle is a musician, writer, and teacher just trying to see the world while doing what she loves for a living. She's taught ESL in Salvador, Brazil and kindergarten in Suwon, Korea, and now she's a full-time freelance writer living in Seattle (just to keep the city alliteration going). She'll try pretty much any food once and believes coffee is its own food group.

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http://www.facebook.com/blmurch Beatrice Murch

Thank you for bringing this issue to the forefront. I knew about Wikipedia, but didn’t know about the others.
http://www.facebook.com/blmurch Beatrice Murch

Thank you for bringing this issue to the forefront. I knew about Wikipedia, but didn’t know about the others.
Anonymous

This shutdown could cause a huge ripple effect. A lot of ad revenue lost and if money-driven behavior serves me right, it should cause quite the stir and hopefully shove a huge metal pipe into the cogs of SOPA and PIP.
http://plankhead.com Zacqary Adam Green

Do it. Do it. Yes.

Wait. Where would we go to talk about how crazy it is that it’s happening, while it’s happening?
Anonymous

T wo’t change my internet usage at all.
Anonymous

T wo’t change my internet usage at all.
SOAP

Politicians are nothing but old farts (drama queens) who don’t know how to communicate to the people or solve the problem of the modern issues today. Americans (I am Canadian) are paying politicians for making bullshit decisions and proposals. Common sense is not common anymore.

MatT

they arn’t stupid, they know how to solve the problems that they chose to create. this isn’t a lack of common sense, it’s a specifically designed step towards achieving their goal.
MatT

they arn’t stupid, they know how to solve the problems that they chose to create. this isn’t a lack of common sense, it’s a specifically designed step towards achieving their goal.

http://fbt-hr.narod2.ru/ TDKS FBT

This would surely kill SOPA, I would like them to do it… but I doubt they will

guest

i don’t know.. having all the major social networking sites is pretty much what they want.. this could be half the work done for them
guest

shut down*

Nitin

SOPA is a necessity!! Companies like GOOGLE and Facebook has been misleading billions of people everyday to these illegal websites containing pirated content. Google and Facebook only cares about making money.

Luke

So does every company, SOPA will stop everything that we have come to love on the internet. Its suppose to be about freedom of speech on the internet its just another way for the government to control everything. I really hope Google, Facebook and Microsoft stop it. only re-enforce
PIPA not the whole shut down the internet and plus hackers will make a different server for the internet. SOPA will fail completely and I can’t Believe EA and Sony is backing this the fags.
Luke

So does every company, SOPA will stop everything that we have come to love on the internet. Its suppose to be about freedom of speech on the internet its just another way for the government to control everything. I really hope Google, Facebook and Microsoft stop it. only re-enforce
PIPA not the whole shut down the internet and plus hackers will make a different server for the internet. SOPA will fail completely and I can’t Believe EA and Sony is backing this the fags.

http://fbupdates.com prateek bansal

I think this is the need of the hour and all the big names on the web should be together To Fight Against SOPA….!!!!

Nitin

SOPA is a necessity and should have been implemented a long time ago!! Companies like GOOGLE and Facebook have been misleading billions of people everyday to these illegal websites containing pirated content and all they care about generating clicks and money. Google and Facebook only cares about making money. I wouldn’t care even if they shutdown themselves forever.

http://technomares.blogspot.com Haunted Ghost

Ladied and gentlemen, I present you with the retard of the day.
http://www.facebook.com/songwaters.parijat Parijat Mishra

all the piracy supporters just seem to avoid replying to the point and try to be dismissive as if its the obvious thing to do. and call ppl who support it trolls or retards. dear faggots, go get your own opinions.

Gauta,

Please express your opinions first Parijat. All I can see in your comments is some text copied and pasted from somewhere else. And besides you really do not seem to understand how you will be affected by SOPA, first understand that.
http://twitter.com/VulpusMagnus Vulpus Magnus

The problem with SOPA, Parijat, is not that it holds people accountable for piracy. The problem is it would punish those websites which allow user generated content when that content — through no fault of their own — is pirated. Its like if you built an office building, and someone committed a crime in that building, under a SOPA like bill you would be imprisoned for that crime. Where’s the justice in that?
http://twitter.com/VulpusMagnus Vulpus Magnus

The problem with SOPA, Parijat, is not that it holds people accountable for piracy. The problem is it would punish those websites which allow user generated content when that content — through no fault of their own — is pirated. Its like if you built an office building, and someone committed a crime in that building, under a SOPA like bill you would be imprisoned for that crime. Where’s the justice in that?

Xxx

*facepalm* are that much of a retard?
Jack

as opposed to the politicians who want to implement SOPA who have always told nothing but the truth? and of course politicians don’t care about money, i mean its not like we pay for their lives with taxes…….oh wait.
Zapatista

“Any individual that trades liberty for security deserves neither one of them.” – Thomas Jefferson

If you let the government regulate the internet and say what is legal or not, what would happen to our freedom of speech? I agree with punishing criminals for downloading or streaming pirated content, but the government shouldn’t treat all internet users like children.

The internet is a Global Communication device that should not be shut down or censored because billion dollar companies are complaining about chump change.
Benur82

You must be a rich retard or politician.
Do you understand the content of this subject?
You think this is all about business? Nothing else?
I’m from a poor country called Peru, which you probably don´t know where is it or even knew about his existance, but check on google. There is some important info about it.

Legion of Doom

Don’t be sad brother….!!! NO SOPA WILL DO A FU*K While we hackers are here, if they come up with censorship our peers will bring the largest and dangerous attack ever on them, No website about governments will work. FU*K you governments first stop your son or yourselfs from watching porn… then the others

Guest

Your a fucking retard….

Cunt

God Damn Americans…
Anonymous

This would be the biggest thing to happen to the internet since email. There is no stressing enough on how huge this would be. Applications rely on social websites being there. Entire business models rely on these sites. As a example, while I do not play zynga games, I can image the rage that would ripple like a tidal wave. People pay money to play these games, people have gone to JAIL stealing money for these games. While it might be healthy for them to take a step back and look at what their lives have become, this is merely one example. Can you imagine the stock market during this chaos? Google shutting down would be the equivalent of a nation the size of Europe suddenly disappearing. THIS does not happen without global consequences. While I would LOVE to see this happen, as this would be a world altering event, I would dread the unintended consequences. Small business owners pop into mind. 1 hour of google disappearing would translate into entire sections of peoples lives being disrupted. Adsense is a good example here. [Quote] For this reason, several webmasters develop multiple websites so that
they can generate a combined income across their sites in the range of
$3000-$5000/month.[End Quote] Now, If we assume the bottom range of about 1,000 dollars per month, it won’t take much to imagine what this would do for a single day. Someone who relies on that money will not be returned. Let’s pull a number out of thin air, 160 dollars lost for that day. Not alot right? Now times that 1 million people. 160 million dollars disappearing from the global market. I might be exaggerating a bit, but not much. If sopa goes through, I’m going to stock up on as much food as I can. It would be bloody, fire in the streets bad.
Anonymous

This would be the biggest thing to happen to the internet since email. There is no stressing enough on how huge this would be. Applications rely on social websites being there. Entire business models rely on these sites. As a example, while I do not play zynga games, I can image the rage that would ripple like a tidal wave. People pay money to play these games, people have gone to JAIL stealing money for these games. While it might be healthy for them to take a step back and look at what their lives have become, this is merely one example. Can you imagine the stock market during this chaos? Google shutting down would be the equivalent of a nation the size of Europe suddenly disappearing. THIS does not happen without global consequences. While I would LOVE to see this happen, as this would be a world altering event, I would dread the unintended consequences. Small business owners pop into mind. 1 hour of google disappearing would translate into entire sections of peoples lives being disrupted. Adsense is a good example here. [Quote] For this reason, several webmasters develop multiple websites so that
they can generate a combined income across their sites in the range of
$3000-$5000/month.[End Quote] Now, If we assume the bottom range of about 1,000 dollars per month, it won’t take much to imagine what this would do for a single day. Someone who relies on that money will not be returned. Let’s pull a number out of thin air, 160 dollars lost for that day. Not alot right? Now times that 1 million people. 160 million dollars disappearing from the global market. I might be exaggerating a bit, but not much. If sopa goes through, I’m going to stock up on as much food as I can. It would be bloody, fire in the streets bad.
http://blondish.net/ Nile

It is unfortunate that GoDaddy decided to be a boob about SOPA, especially since it would mean losing customers whether or not they supported it or not. I did not remove myself from their services, but I did voice my opinion when HostGator wrote a good post condemning their choice to support SOPA. Good that GoDaddy got their head out of the clouds and back on the right path.

I have already signed the petition and contacted my politician. The only thing I can do left is keep spreading the word online.

Fanning

Godaddy is a disgrace. Leave Godaddy at once. Remaining a customer is like paying for your own assassination. Your power as a consumer is what very little power you actually have left in America. Nothing else you do matters.

Carrington Kelly

Liked your article. Maybe define ”
SOPA and Protect IP”, I had to look-it-up to remind myself of the details.
Thanks.
Carrington Kelly

Liked your article. Maybe define ”
SOPA and Protect IP”, I had to look-it-up to remind myself of the details.
Thanks.
Paul Lastname

Actually, the last I heard, GoDaddy still supports the bill, but they are being furtive about it. They give some lip service in public about pulling support for the bill, while their lobbyists and lawyers say something else, “off the record”, where it counts!

Keep killing off those GoDaddy accounts, people.
Edwardlc7

What is wrong in America today , We need to clean house and I am not talking about our homes . Politicians need to get there heads out of there A## and get back to the people . ( or get out ) we the people need to put a stop to all the BULLSHIT in washington , THE POLITICIANS NEED TO REMEMBER IT IS ( BY THE PEOPLE , FOR THE PEOPLE , OF THE PEOPLE ) they neen to get back work and find a satisfactory solution to our problems today , and get the people back to work . ( STOP ALL THE BULLSHIT ) and get back to working for the people .
maromiga

Even if this passes, it will be repealed when Ron Paul becomes president.

Guest

Yup. That is exactly when it will be repealed.

Bill

So…never?
Bill

So…never?

NT

It’s funny how many people are so brainwashed they no longer even know how legislation works in the US. SOPA means nothing, stop PIPA. The anti-piracy lobby has so brainwashed and controlled the media output to put all the emphasis on the house bill which wouldn’t even make it through the senate because it’s not as controlling as PIPA. Stop being sheep, fight PIPA.
http://www.driftingfocus.com Kelsey Freeman

I think it needs to be done!
http://www.driftingfocus.com Kelsey Freeman

I think it needs to be done!
http://www.driftingfocus.com Kelsey Freeman

I think it needs to be done!
Woundedfuzz

Isn’t government and the rich 1% fun?!?!?

they will own everything. Un employ you US citizens and change China into what you used to be..
Anonymous

I fully support google ebay facebook etc.. shutting down for a few days to draw attention to this critical issue.
Lindi

The scary thing for me is the amount of spin in this cycle. Apple and Microsoft also initially supported SOPA. To large companies, the anti-piracy angle certainly facilitates their support. But its significant flaws infringe upon our first amendment rights in a big way. The public outcry and financial ‘voting’ means of the consumers is the only way to combat further erosion of our Bill of Rights. I just hope that each company and the legislature will realize that with these further readings, the critical flaws in an over-reaching, power-hungry government.
http://www.facebook.com/nesNYC718 Nestor Delgado

The terrorist oligarchy that runs the US and the world is terrified the people are communicating via their own infrastructure which is decentralized and hard to control. That is the real meaning of SOPA but whatever they try they will not succeed as the cat is already out of the bag.
Madeinmanhattan

Sad that financial contributions to lawmakers/upholders is what is deciding this.
http://twitter.com/KingYames James D

bricks will be…
Thickassh1t

America is the internet, oh, I didn’t know that.
http://twitter.com/Bariman43 Baris Bicer

If this is what it takes to destroy SOPA, then so be it. There might be no other way to convert pro-SOPA people and turn them to our side before it’s too late.
Curt Jopling

So unless we pay the politicians more we will lose? Outspent 4 to 1. Isn’t democracy wonderful. Can we just clean house in November and start over?
rainkitten

Please, I am Begging you guys- DO IT!!

I first saw this idea on Reddit. I think it really is our only hope to stop SOPA and PIPA. Current numbers say that SOPA has the votes and PIPA is sliding thru as a result of the lower amt of attention it is getting. Please don’t leave PIPA out of this – it is just as bad as you know !

This may be our only hope at this late date to stop the awful legislation and leave a strong message to those in DC to “GTFO our internet” for good.
http://twitter.com/RosalineAng_24 Julie B.

Frankly I think this what its gonna take for SOPA and its twin PIPA to be stopped…..
http://twitter.com/RosalineAng_24 Julie B.

Frankly I think this what its gonna take for SOPA and its twin PIPA to be stopped…..
Guest

In the box where it starts off as; “True, it would be the political” on the 2nd line, 3rd and 4th word….double “the”.
http://www.facebook.com/peacemovies John Thielking

I shut off my homepage on a few occasions already to support the various Occupy General Strikes that happened at the end of 2011. I could do that again to protest SOPA. You can also just dump Hollywood entirely (the main backers of SOPA) and never pay for legally distributed content over the web again (except for if you really want to support the struggling Community Access TV stations that bring you the content). Go to http://www.peacemovies.com/offhollywood.html to find all the links that you need to make this work. I will be adding more links, including free streaming of tv and radio news soon. It’s all free and all legal and mostly nonviolent.
http://www.facebook.com/peacemovies John Thielking

I shut off my homepage on a few occasions already to support the various Occupy General Strikes that happened at the end of 2011. I could do that again to protest SOPA. You can also just dump Hollywood entirely (the main backers of SOPA) and never pay for legally distributed content over the web again (except for if you really want to support the struggling Community Access TV stations that bring you the content). Go to http://www.peacemovies.com/offhollywood.html to find all the links that you need to make this work. I will be adding more links, including free streaming of tv and radio news soon. It’s all free and all legal and mostly nonviolent.
http://twitter.com/lcastillo5 Laura Morales

I don’t usually stand with big corporations, but this may be necessary to stop censorship. I believe they have no choice, but to band together just like Occupy to make their voices heard. This is a first and I think it will be very effective indeed. They have every right to do what they please, don’t they?. It’s their business and we have freedom of speech. If their customers are upset by it then they should think about the fact that corporations currently are protected and have the same rights as individuals. It’s not as fun when it effects YOUR business is it?? . hahahaha Maybe they should think about reversing that law.
http://twitter.com/lcastillo5 Laura Morales

I don’t usually stand with big corporations, but this may be necessary to stop censorship. I believe they have no choice, but to band together just like Occupy to make their voices heard. This is a first and I think it will be very effective indeed. They have every right to do what they please, don’t they?. It’s their business and we have freedom of speech. If their customers are upset by it then they should think about the fact that corporations currently are protected and have the same rights as individuals. It’s not as fun when it effects YOUR business is it?? . hahahaha Maybe they should think about reversing that law.
Rowena

Michelle, you should read the mark up debate instead of propaganda. http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/transcript12152011.pdf
Rowena

Michelle, you should read the mark up debate instead of propaganda. http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/transcript12152011.pdf
MrC0ll1n

Please, whoever reads this, if you don’t really know much about what SOPA and PIPA is all about, go to YouTube and look up “WTF Is..: Sopa (aka the U.S. government trying to ruin the internet)”. It is by A man named John who is from the UK and he explains how it not only affects the U.S, but many other countries as well. If you’re a U.S. citizens, tell your senator to vote NO. They WILL eventually listen, we just need more people to voice it.
MrC0ll1n

Please, whoever reads this, if you don’t really know much about what SOPA and PIPA is all about, go to YouTube and look up “WTF Is..: Sopa (aka the U.S. government trying to ruin the internet)”. It is by A man named John who is from the UK and he explains how it not only affects the U.S, but many other countries as well. If you’re a U.S. citizens, tell your senator to vote NO. They WILL eventually listen, we just need more people to voice it.
MrC0ll1n

Please, whoever reads this, if you don’t really know much about what SOPA and PIPA is all about, go to YouTube and look up “WTF Is..: Sopa (aka the U.S. government trying to ruin the internet)”. It is by A man named John who is from the UK and he explains how it not only affects the U.S, but many other countries as well. If you’re a U.S. citizens, tell your senator to vote NO. They WILL eventually listen, we just need more people to voice it.
guest

I get extremely concerned when an article tells me to do something ‘ right away’ and does not say why. If you want support for SOPA then write an intelligent article.
guess who

They need to do the black out for a day just to make sure that it hits home. 15, 30, or even an hour just wont make an impression.

And where the hell is the hacker group Anonymous, thought they stood against this type of stuff. Where the hell are they and why don’t we hear anything from them.
Izi_nau

Lets get this show on the road. Been waiting for the lamb-like beast to speak as the dragon for quite sometime. One step closer to Jesus coming. Maranatha
Izi_nau

Lets get this show on the road. Been waiting for the lamb-like beast to speak as the dragon for quite sometime. One step closer to Jesus coming. Maranatha
http://www.facebook.com/people/Curtis-Isabell/1036013363 Curtis Isabell

i hope they do it. the news media is hardly covering the issue so most people are like ” whats sopa”
however. if google, yahoo, twitter and facebook are all censored for even a few hours the backlash would be huge
http://www.facebook.com/people/Curtis-Isabell/1036013363 Curtis Isabell

i hope they do it. the news media is hardly covering the issue so most people are like ” whats sopa”
however. if google, yahoo, twitter and facebook are all censored for even a few hours the backlash would be huge
Anonymous

Those companies will never shut down voluntarily. Google is used by the military for surveillance purposes so forget about it.

I could care less about Facebook as people need to get out more and Amazon could go today and all the Mom and Pops can start reopening. No one should be surprised by SOPA. America is filled with invasive control freaks. It was inevitable that someone would try to rule it.

Also, Bill Gates will never allow anyone to interfere with people buying anything Microsoft related from the internet.
Cheryl

Last time I checked I didn’t live in North Korea….
http://www.facebook.com/songwaters.parijat Parijat Mishra

how is preventing free download of music and software and movies ppl have invested thousands and millions in equal to suppressing free speech!! please tell me!

Anonymous

People aren’t upset about the bill’s attempt to stop piracy. People are upset about the incredibly vague language of the bill (written in at the request of lobbyists like the RIAA, the MPAA and others).

In it, the bill allows for a private company (think Universal Records or Sony Pictures) to order ISPs, payment gateways (PayPal), and search engines to effectively kill service to any site that the complaintant private company deems is pirating their content without reasonable proof required. These punishments would also be applied to sites seen as supporting these “piracy” websites through link sharing, etc.

The trouble is, in the past few years, record labels and movie studios and the like have been notorious for claiming DMCA copyright infringement on sites or even YouTube accounts that haven’t done anything wrong at all and whose content would fall under a “fair use” clause. Typically, they’ll do this to stifle competition before that competition can grow – effectively giving them a collective monopoly on whatever service they provide.

Giving them even more power to make false claims and kill legitimate websites is bad news. Google has even said it supports the effort to go after pirates, but that the language needs to be reworked to where due process must be given and that this new power should not be in the hands of private corporations.

Everything cleared up now?
Anonymous

People aren’t upset about the bill’s attempt to stop piracy. People are upset about the incredibly vague language of the bill (written in at the request of lobbyists like the RIAA, the MPAA and others).

In it, the bill allows for a private company (think Universal Records or Sony Pictures) to order ISPs, payment gateways (PayPal), and search engines to effectively kill service to any site that the complaintant private company deems is pirating their content without reasonable proof required. These punishments would also be applied to sites seen as supporting these “piracy” websites through link sharing, etc.

The trouble is, in the past few years, record labels and movie studios and the like have been notorious for claiming DMCA copyright infringement on sites or even YouTube accounts that haven’t done anything wrong at all and whose content would fall under a “fair use” clause. Typically, they’ll do this to stifle competition before that competition can grow – effectively giving them a collective monopoly on whatever service they provide.

Giving them even more power to make false claims and kill legitimate websites is bad news. Google has even said it supports the effort to go after pirates, but that the language needs to be reworked to where due process must be given and that this new power should not be in the hands of private corporations.

Everything cleared up now?

Nenax3

this law is being implied by the iluminati , youtube the videos you’ll see this is against our right of freedom of expresion . the iluminati is trying to block us from seeing the truth .
Nenax3

this law is being implied by the iluminati , youtube the videos you’ll see this is against our right of freedom of expresion . the iluminati is trying to block us from seeing the truth .

Google, Amazon, Facebook may shut down to stop SOPA

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