Urbanspoon (and I) oppose SOPA

By kate on January 18th, 2012

[I’m honored to be the one asked to write my company’s blog post for today’s SOPA/PIPA blackout. I’m re-printing it here.]

Why Can’t I See Reviews on Urbanspoon?

Today on Urbanspoon, you’ll notice that some content in the United States has been blacked out. We’re making this dramatic gesture to illustrate what might happen to the internet if a law currently proposed in Congress is passed. Along with Google, Wikipedia, Tumblr, Reddit, and thousands of other websites, we’re participating in a coordinated blackout today to focus attention on this critical issue. Here’s an explanation:

We believe that if SOPA/PIPA passes into law, it will be lethal to the internet as we know it. That may sound exaggerated, but we encourage you to read the information on these sites to learn more and see just how serious it is:

Ars Technica: House takes Senate’s bad Internet censorship bill, tries making it worse
ExtremeTech: How SOPA could actually break the internet
Electric Frontier Foundation: How PIPA and SOPA Violate White House Principles Supporting Free Speech and Innovation
OpenCongress.org: Summary and details of the bill

Most importantly, PLEASE contact your senator and representative today to express your opposition to SOPA/PIPA. Here’s one site where you can email Congress.

In closing, enjoy the video The Day The LOLcats Died.

UPDATE: The Oatmeal contributes an excellent anti-SOPA piece.