Several widely popular Web sites, including Wikipedia and Reddit, went dark today to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act, dramatically raising the profile of this obscure but important issue.
The following statement about SOPA and the protest, from Bruce Edward Walker of The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Tammy Nash at [email protected] and 312/377-4000. After regular business hours, contact Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/731-9364.
“The entertainment industry and its Congressional cronies tried to pull a fast one by attempting to pass SOPA with little to no transparency or public debate – and got their hands slapped by Wikipedia, Reddit, and other intentionally blacked-out sites.
“The effort is a tremendous public relations victory over SOPA in that millions of Internet users are now alerted to the proposed legislation’s very real threats to free speech, technical innovation, and due process. The blowback initiated by the blackouts promises a defeat of the legislation in the House or, failing that, a White House veto.”
Bruce Edward Walker
Managing Editor, InfoTech & Telecom News
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
The Heartland Institute is a 28-year-old national nonprofit organization with offices in Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; Austin, Texas; Tallahassee, Florida; and Columbus, Ohio. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.
Bruce Edward Walker was managing editor of InfoTech & Telecom News from 2010 to 2012.
