Think about it.

Today is a big day on the internet. Major websites have shut down in protest. I am small. My tech support (my husband, Dave) is skiing with his best friend. With him MIA, I cannot do a fancy protest here. I have tried and still cannot figure out how to install the WordPress Blackout Plugin on my ftp server. What I can do is ask you to think. There are obviously two sides to SOPA the (STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT) and PIPA (Protect IP Act). And right now I think it is important to understand SOPA & PIPA and how they will affect you.

Ben Parr at the Consumerist explains the whole issue very well and answers why the Internet should care about SOPA & PIPA:

Ben Parr: Under the current wording of SOPA and PIPA, websites could potentially be blacklisted from search engines, advertising networks and Internet Service Providers via court order. The Department of Justice or a copyright holder could request this and potentially be granted this request. This is very bad, because sites such as Reddit, YouTube and other entertainment websites could accidentally host pirated content (via a rogue user) and then be blacklisted by the government.

In other words, your favorite websites might get penalized, blacklisted or even shut down due to a copyright infringement lawsuit. These are all hypothetical scenarios, but ones that SOPA and PIPA would open the door to.

I like what Google says, “End Piracy, Not liberty.”

We live in a country that believes in Freedom of Speech, which most certainly includes no censorship. Today, take a minute to understand SOPA & PIPA and how they will affect you.