Google on Tuesday confirmed that it too will join Wednesday's SOPA/PIPA protest. But before you freak out about the possibility of being without Gmail, Google Search, Maps, or Google+ for a day, know that the search giant is not shutting down its services tomorrow, only raising awareness.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), meanwhile, does not appear to be going anywhere, with bill sponsor Rep. Lamar Smith announcing today that a markup of the bill will commence in February—while also slamming the protests as a publicity stunt.
Until then, Google plans to make its opposition known.
"Like many businesses, entrepreneurs and web users, we oppose these bills because there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the Internet," Google said in a statement. "So tomorrow we will be joining many other tech companies to highlight this issue on our U.S. home page."
Google did not elaborate on how it might highlight the anti-piracy bills. But many sites that cannot completely shut down have pledged to place banners on their sites with information about the two bills.
SOPA and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) are intended to go after overseas "rogue" Web sites that traffic in counterfeit goods, from purses to prescription drugs. The bills would allow the Justice Department to obtain a court order and target these sites, getting links pulled from search engines, stopping the flow of funds, and allowing copyright holders to bring claims against foreign Web sites that steal their technology, products, or IP.
Initially, SOPA also allowed the DOJ to order ISPs to block infringing Web sites, but amidst backlash, Rep. Smith pulled that provision from his bill. Sen. Patrick Leahy, author of PIPA, also said he would re-evaluate Domain Name System (DNS) blocking.
Despite those changes, opponents are still concerned, and some high-profile sites like Reddit and Wikipedia announced recently that they would go dark on Jan. 18 in protest of SOPA and PIPA. The English version of Wikipedia will shut down at midnight tonight, while Reddit will close up shop starting at 8am Eastern tomorrow.
Mozilla also confirmed that it will join with sites like WordPress and Boing Boing and go dark. "PIPA/SOPA protect content at all costs, creating the opportunity for abuse and damaging online capabilities for all of us," Mozilla said in a statement. "Mozilla stands with this opposition and we hope the blackout of our U.S. sites will educate people about this important issue."
The Firefox maker promised to have more details about its blackout later today.
Just a Publicity Stunt?
Rep. Smith, however, was not impressed, calling out Wikipedia's efforts in particular as a publicity stunt.
"It is ironic that a website dedicated to providing information is spreading misinformation about the Stop Online Piracy Act. The bill will not harm Wikipedia, domestic blogs or social networking sites," Rep. Smith, a Texas Republican, said in a statement. "This publicity stunt does a disservice to its users by promoting fear instead of facts. Perhaps during the blackout, Internet users can look elsewhere for an accurate definition of online piracy."
Rep. Smith suggested that opponents have not actually read the bill.
"This bill will not censor the Internet," he said. "But it will protect American workers, inventors and job creators from foreign thieves who steal our products, technology and intellectual property."
Over the weekends, opponents thought that perhaps SOPA was dead. Rep. Darrell Issa, who has penned rival legislation known as the OPEN Act, cancelled a hearing planned for tomorrow after the House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor, assured him that SOPA would not come to the House floor amidst all the disagreement.
That has apparently not deterred Rep Smith. In a Tuesday afternoon statement, Smith said the House Judiciary Committee will likely resume consideration of SOPA in Februrary.
"I am committed to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to send a bipartisan bill to the White House that saves American jobs and protects intellectual property," Smith said.
PIPA, meanwhile, is scheduled to be taken up by the Senate on Jan. 24 at 2:15pm.