Web sites from Wikipedia to Reddit are dark today in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), but bill supporters insist the effort is nothing but a publicity stunt and an abuse of power.
In a Tuesday statement, Chris Dodd, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)—and a former Connecticut senator—said Web sites participating in the blackout are "resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their corporate pawns, rather than coming to the table to find solutions to a problem that all now seem to agree is very real and damaging."
The MPAA and its musical counterpart, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), have been big supporters of SOPA and PIPA, prompting opponents to accuse bill sponsors of bowing to lobbying dollars. Both bills target overseas "rogue" Web sites that traffic in fake goods, from purses and prescription drugs to pirated DVDs and MP3s. But the power that SOPA and PIPA provide to the Justice Department to go after these Web sites is worrisome to opponents, who fear the legislation will put legitimate sites at risk.
As a result, Jan. 18 has been dubbed SOPA/PIPA blackout day, with many high-profile Web sites shutting down service or adding anti-SOPA/PIPA signage to their sites.
The MPAA's Dodd, however, was not impressed.
"It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on [these sites] for information and use their services," Dodd wrote. "It is also an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today."
Dodd accused blackout participants of skewing the facts "in order to further their corporate interests."
"A so-called 'blackout' is yet another gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals," Dodd concluded. "It is our hope that the White House and the Congress will call on those who intend to stage this 'blackout' to stop the hyperbole and PR stunts and engage in meaningful efforts to combat piracy."
Rep. Lamar Smith, who authored SOPA, issued a statement yesterday that accused Wikipedia of engaging in 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 said. "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."
This morning, Smith's office sent around an editorial from the Wall Street Journal that echoed his and Dodd's sentiments.
"Wikipedia has never blacked itself out before on any other political issue, nor have websites like Mozilla or the social news aggregator Reddit," the Journal wrote. "How's that for irony: Companies supposedly devoted to the free flow of information are gagging themselves, and the only practical effect will be to enable fraudsters. They've taken no comparable action against, say, Chinese repression."
SOPA and PIPA "are far more modest than this cyber tantrum suggests," according to the paper.
The Journal is owned by News Corp., whose chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch, has also criticized SOPA/PIPA opponents. Over the weekend, he took to Twitter to slam Google and the White House for their views on the bills and he was back again yesterday for more.
"Big bipartisan majorities both houses sold out by POTUS for search engines. How about 2.2 m workers in entertainment industry? Piracy rules," he tweeted yesterday. "Nonsense argument about danger to Internet. How about Google, others blocking porn, hate speech, etc? Internet hurt?"
Murdoch concluded that the "blogosphere has succeeded in terrorizing many senators and congressmen who previously committed" to supporting SOPA and PIPA. "Don't care about people not buying movies, programs or newspapers, just stealing them," he concluded.
For more, see the Top 5 Objections to SOPA, PIPA and Who's Going Dark to Protest SOPA, PIPA? Also check out the slideshow below, which features screen shots from Web sites that are participating in today's blackout.