I hope nobody has any last minute research assignments they need to complete because if you go to the english version of Wikipedia today you’ll find it’s offline. In its place you’ll find a blacked-out page and the heading “Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge.”

Google is also taking part in the protest 
against proposed anti-piracy legislation.

What’s it all about? The USA is today considering legislation hailed by media and music industires as a breakthrough in the fight against internet piracy. Wikipedia, along with Google, Reddit, Boing and others, say the proposed bills are not only over the top in allowing entire websites to be blocked should one piece of pirated material find its way online, not only will it not stop internet piracy, but it also puts in place an entire framework which will make future governent censorship incredibly easy to enact. 

This isn’t a piece of legislation that will only affect the USA either – its effects would be profoundly felt across the entire internet if passed and other governments will be quick to follow suit. Already Spain looks set to put in place almost identical legislation which has also been fiercely criticised for its implications on the freedom of expression.

Neither is this just a matter for Wikipedia, internet search engines and blogging site: any website where content can be shared, be it a social network or a news website, is in danger…and as the internet, and the Web 2.0 in particular, is built on the idea of sharing, we can probably agree this means the entirety of the internet.
 

I don’t know about you, but I find the whole idea of an internet with no Wikipedia quite chilling – which is exactly the effect these bills would have on the free exchange of information and ideas.