January 17, 2012

Google to Use Homepage to Protest SOPA on Wednesday

1-17-2012 National:

You won’t see a blank page at Google.com on Wednesday, but the company will use its homepage to register its opposition to SOPA.

A Google spokesperson told Mashable that its homepage will include a link where users can learn more about SOPA, confirming a Bloomberg report.

“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,” the spokesperson said in an e-mail statement. “So tomorrow we will be joining many other tech companies to highlight this issue on our U.S. home page.”

As a protest move, Google’s falls far short of Reddit and Wikipedia — both of whom have pledged to go dark on Wednesday. However, Google’s opposition goes further than what Twitter, for one, is apparently planning. Twitter CEO Dick Costolo dismissed on Monday a call to go dark by tweeting, “closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish.”.

Twitter is among a handful of top tech firms, including Google, Facebook and Yahoo, that sent a joint letter to key members of the Senate last November to express their opposition to SOPA and PIPA.

The companies oppose both bills on the grounds that it amounts to Internet censorship. Proponents say that something needs to be done to counter Internet piracy and that Google, among others, should play a role in that enforcement.

What do you think? Are you satisfied with Google’s response or do you think the company should do something more dramatic? Sound off in the comments. ..Source.. by Mashable.com

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