Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter allow consumers to
stay abreast on the latest gossip, fashions and local hangouts.
Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter allow consumers to stay abreast on the latest gossip, fashions and local hangouts.
More than a place to gather information, social networks have made the internet a venue to showcase technology. They contain a plethora of advertisements, entertainment and other motives of interest while providing access to information on a widespread assortment of subject matters.
For instance, the accessibility of newspapers via the internet increases awareness of current events within communities worldwide.
But what would happen if the internet was eliminated of the sites that many of us treasure? What if the government decided to shut down all social networks?
On Jan. 18, the internet experienced a ‘blackout’. The peaceful protests lasted for 24-hours and websites resumed to their everyday manner the following day.
This event prevented certain websites from being accessed due to a petition. As many as 7,000 websites chose to participate in the petition to raise awareness of the intentions of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Ip Act (PIPA).
Among the 7,000 websites petitioning were Wikipedia, Google, Reddit, WordPress, TwitPic, Cheezburger, and BoingBoing, some of the top used internet sites.
The intentions of SOPA and PIPA are to inevitably end online piracy and protect the IP Act.
The websites urged visitors to contact their local representative to voice their opinion of the intentions to censor or block the page completely. The reasoning behind blocking certain pages is to shed light on what would happen if SOPA and PIPA were to become legislation that are in favor of the acts.
If successful with their acts, online social networks, such as those previously listed and many more, would end. More or less, Congress is trying to censor the web. If the censorship were successful, certain websites would be out of commission and shut down permanently.
Those that disagree with the online censorship bring up points that challenge the freedom of expression and a right to information. Although this may be true, it is within the interest of Congress to prevent online piracy at just about any cost.
The websites that choose to protest definitely caught the interest of their users.
The mindset of the website coordinators was to bring awareness to their viewers and engage them in the problem at hand-SOPA and PIPA trying to censor the web. The websites knew their viewers would visit their sites, so why not creatively mention that the government is out to put an end to social networks?
In order to save the internet and avoid censorship, websites appointed January 18th as a day to bring all internet surfers to the realization that the internet community is at stake if SOPA and PIPA succeed. Therefore, it is pertinent to bring this matter to the public’s attention. In order to make progress or have voices heard, we a people must be knowledgeable of what is going on in and around their community.
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- Kelsey Fair, Contributor