Google, Amazon, Facebook, And Twitter Consider Blackout To Protest SOPA

By: Jonathan Moormann

Welcome to the new internet.

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While the discussion of SOPA has been on hold while Congress is in recess, the fight against internet regulation has continued off the hill. The NetCoalition trade association, which contains big internet names like Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Twitter, have said that they would consider a massive service blackout if it looks like the bill might get passed. This "nuclear option" would result in some of the internet's most commonly visited locations becoming temporarily unavailable, which out to draw some negative attention to the legislation. There's nothing people hate more than actually having to work at work.
While the intent of SOPA is to halt internet piracy by holding content hosters (rather than just uploaders) culpable for copyright infringement, the members of NetCoalition are concerned that it would fundamentally change the way our internet functions. Any kind of content hosting site (such as YouTube) would have a very difficult time remaining in operation under the new legislation, as they would be violating copyright law whenever an infringing file is placed on their site. This means either constant legal battles, extremely broad licensing agreements, or company review of any content that would go on their network.
While NetCoalition would probably like to avoid a service blackout, since they would take some backlash themselves, this is one method that the supporters of SOPA simply can't match. Should such a blackout occur, you can rest assured that you will hear about it on Ology first - probably because the rest of the web is offline.

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