U.S. Activist Aishah Schwartz Supports Jan. 18 Wikipedia Blackout in Opposition to SOPA/PIPA

Jan. 18, 2012 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Activist Aishah Schwartz threw her hat into the ring on January 18, 2012, in supporting the Wikipedia community's unprecedented decision to blackout the English version of Wikipedia for 24 hours, in protest against proposed legislation in the United States — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and PROTECTIP (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate. If passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and bring about new tools for censorship of international websites inside the United States.

Wikipedia administrators confirmed their decision Monday afternoon (PST) in a public statement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Ac...):

Over the course of the past 72 hours, over 1800 Wikipedians have joined together to discuss proposed actions that the community might wish to take against SOPA and PIPA. This is by far the largest level of participation in a community discussion ever seen on Wikipedia, which illustrates the level of concern that Wikipedians feel about this proposed legislation. The overwhelming majority of participants support community action to encourage greater public action in response to these two bills. Of the proposals considered by Wikipedians, those that would result in a "blackout" of the English Wikipedia, in concert with similar blackouts on other websites opposed to SOPA and PIPA, received the strongest support.

"Today Wikipedians from around the world have spoken about their opposition to this destructive legislation," said Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia. "This is an extraordinary action for our community to take - and while we regret having to prevent the world from having access to Wikipedia for even a second, we simply cannot ignore the fact that SOPA and PIPA endanger free speech both in the United States and abroad, and set a frightening precedent of Internet censorship for the world."

"I join the global Wikipedian community in urging Wikipedia readers to make their voices heard. If you live in the United States, find your elected representative in Washington (http://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml or
http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml). If you live outside the United States, contact your State Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs or similar branch of government. Tell them you oppose SOPA and PIPA, charging them with the responsibility for ensuring that the internet to remains open and free," Schwartz stated.

TAKE ACTION!
Call Any U.S. Senator: (202) 224-3121
Call Any U.S. Representative: (202) 225-3121

Sign the Online Petition
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_pressure_is_wor...

LEARN MORE:
Imagine a world without free knowledge! Join me in signing the petition to save the internet!
http://aishahsjourney.blogspot.com/2012/01/join-me-in-sig...

Aishah Schwartz Supports Wikipedia-EN Blackout in Protest of SOPA & PIPA
http://aishahsjourney.blogspot.com/2012/01/aishah-schwart...

English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/English_Wikipedia_ant...

Press releases/English Wikipedia to go dark http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Englis...

Wikipedia, Google Go Black to Protest SOPA http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020455590457...

Wikipedia, Craigslist, other sites go black in SOPA protest http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/01/wikipedia-craigslist-other-sites-shut-down-in-sopa-blackout.html

Google to state anti-SOPA stance on home page http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-to-state-anti-sopa-stance-on-home-page/2012/01/17/gIQANeD05P_story.html

Wikipedia, MoveOn, Reddit, Mozilla shuts down to protest SOPA/PIPA, how to prepare http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57360174-501465/wikipedia-moveon-reddit-mozilla-shuts-down-to-protest-sopa-pipa-how-to-prepare/

Where's my Wikipedia? SOPA, PIPA blackout coming http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2012/01/wikipedia-sopa-strike-blackout.html

Wikipedia to Go Dark on Wednesday to Protest Bills on Web Piracy http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/wikipedia-plans-to-go-dark-on-wednesday-to-protest-sopa/

Wikipedia Blackout: Websites Wikipedia, Reddit, Others Go Dark Wednesday to Protest SOPA, PIPA http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wikipedia-blackout-websites-wikipedia-reddit-dark-wednesday-protest/story?id=15373251&singlePage=true#.TxWv2KVSSCM

SOPA: Internet Piracy Bill Criticized as Internet Censorship http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2011/11/sopa-internet-piracy-bill-criticized-as-internet-censorship/

‎'SOPA': Internet Piracy Bills in Congress Threaten Core Values
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/sopa-internet-censorship-anti-piracy-bills-congress/story?id=15108326#.TxWwPKVSSCM

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Aishah Schwartz, a Muslim American, serves as Founder and Director of the 2006 established Muslimah Writers Alliance (MWA). She is also an internationally renowned civil and human rights activist, writer and photo journalist. Biography: http://bio.prlog.org/mwa-net/50001433-aishah-schwartz.html - On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aishahschwartz.activist - Al-Jazeera Documentary on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLyJZGzNVqY



Photos:
https://www.prlog.org/11775491/1
https://www.prlog.org/11775491/2