SOPA dies (but what about PIPA?) while Current.com community calls for protest

Today, we're looking at the current.com community's response and reaction to the Stop Online Piracy Act and the fact that the bill is dead -- at least for now:

Stop Internet Privacy Act Dead on Arrival, Obama Succumbs to Pressure
Submitted by massanova

Amid significant pressure from tens of thousands of internet users and major web behemoths like Google, Facebook, and Reddit, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is, in its current form, Dead on Arrival:

Misguided efforts to combat online privacy have been threatening to stifle innovation, suppress free speech, and even, in some cases, undermine national security. As of yesterday, though, there’s a lot less to worry about.

The first sign that the bills’ prospects were dwindling came Friday, when SOPA sponsors agreed to drop a key provision that would have required service providers to block access to international sites accused of piracy.

The community remains hesitant to the adminstration's actions:

nardo1224: "I will believe it when i see Obama go on national TV and announce that SOPA is dead the same way he announced the murder of Osama Bin Ladin!"

ThirdSection: "Well, let's not break out the streamers and noisemakers just yet, it's still to be seen whether Obama will follow through on his veto threat."

unimatrix0: "This is good news, SOPA and Protect IP Act are both horrible, terrible, etc. However, the headline is partisan and misleading. Obama did not succumb to pressure - Obama never supported or proposed SOPA or the Protect IP Act. The Obama administration simply did the right thing by informing congress that they oppose any legislation that would hinder free exchange on the Internet."

Wikipedia, Reddit To Shut Down Sites Wednesday To Protest Proposed Stop Online Piracy Act
Submitted by letsliveinpeace

Along with Reddit, Wikipedia announced plans to "go dark" on Wednesday in opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

Chief technology officials in the Obama administration have expressed concern about any "legislation that ... undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet." But the bill's main backers, Hollywood movie studios and music publishers, want to stop the theft of their creative content and the bills have widespread bipartisan support. A vote on SOPA is on hold in the House now, as the Senate is still scheduled vote on PIPA next Tuesday.

Current Community protests SOPA/PIPA -- Are you in?
Submitted by MotherforTruth

In advance of the announcement that the bill was being shelved indefinitely, current.com community members MotherforTruth and JanforGore put out a call for protest. Although SOPA is apparently off the table, Protect IP (or, PIPA) is still up for consdieration in the Senate:

All in all this is a direct attempt to limit free exchange of ideas on the Internet, the truly last bastion of freedom we have. Therefore, in response to the SOPA black out day scheduled for January 18 to coincide with witness testimony in Washington DC, we were hoping members of Current would also become involved in a site wide showing of solidarity for Internet freedom against SOPA.

Therefore, we are asking those interested in participating on January 18 to respond in this thread with the following responses: "Boycotting" or "Post about SOPA" to let us know how you intend to participate. We are also urging everyone to list this in all their groups and to come on January 18 to vote up all SOPA posts. Now we cannot force or limit anyone from posting on other topics, but to make a showing where the majority of articles on the front of the Community page would address this important topic with the responses reading "Stop SOPA" would send a message that we who use the Internet are serious about preserving its freedom.

Senate will vote on the Internet censorship on Tuesday, January 24th. You can find where your Members of Congress Stand on SOPA and PIPA http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/.

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