So you may have noticed the dramatic banner I have plastered across the header of my beloved blog. It is my way of telling you all that I have decided to go ‘on strike’ (no tweets or blog posts) on the 18th January, in protest against efforts by the US Government to mess about with the very foundations of the internet.

The bill – the ‘Stop Online Piracy Act’ (SOPA) and the Protect-IP bill (PIPA) will give the power to the US Government and the entertainment industry to censor any site they wish, simply because it may possibly in some way contribute to online ‘piracy’, using the same methods that countries such as Iran and China use to subdue their people. To put this in perspective, Twitter could find themselves in hot water and facing serious legal issues because one of the several million users of the site posted a link to a film download site.

I’ve included a video from the Stop American Censorship site below that can explain it much better than I can:

After watching that, you might be thinking why a blogger based in the UK (with a largely British reader base) would be so bothered about a US bill. Isn’t it their problem?

No.

The internet is worldwide. A brilliant global connection of minds and ideas, it doesn’t belong to any one individual, and no individual group should have the right to censor it. This bill ignores the fundamental ideas that the internet has grown and flourished around – this shouldn’t be allowed to happen. It could be the first step down a road that should never be travelled, a law that allows wanton infringement on the basic rights of millions, and that could lead to other governments becoming brave enough to brazenly stomp on the rights of their people without fear of retribution.

The internet has to speak up now and nip this thing in the bud before it is given the chance to grow out of control.

And if you live outside of the US, don’t think that you’re helpless – the Stop American Censorship website allows people from across the internet to voice their opinion and add their name to the very, very long list of people who oppose SOPA.

The internet is a brilliant thing – in the last few years it has shown just how powerful it really is. It has toppled corrupt governments, given everybody the ability to voice their opinions and share their talents with the world. If SOPA and PIPA are allowed to slip by unnoticed, they will affect the internet in more ways than we could possibly imagine, so I urge you to do what you can, even if it’s just adding your email to the list, or adding a Twibbon to your profile picture, or linking to the Stop American Censorship site so people learn just how much damage SOPA will do.

If you’ve read right to the end of this, bloody well done, and I’ll see you all on the 19th of January.