Protesting SOPA/PIPA--Row Row Fight the Power

Images from Safebooru
Tomorrow, Subdued Fangirling will go dark from 8 AM to 8 PM in solidarity with other websites that are protesting SOPA and PIPA.


Most of you have probably already heard about this, but for those who haven't, I recommend that you watch the above video and visit Americancensorship.org for information. Chikorita157's post on the subject pretty much covers all of the important points as they apply to anime bloggers in America and the comments on Kyokai's post over at METANORN are informative as well. Experts also agree that these bills could have dire effects towards start-up companies and the safety of the internet in general. This is not the way to combat piracy. Since SOPA had its first hearing, one of the key provisions regarding blocking foreign sites has been dropped, but due to increasing outcry against the bill, even from the White House, SOPA has been shelved indefinitely. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that it can't be brought back, and the Senate version, PIPA, is still alive. We, the internet community, need to make it clear to American legislators that these bills will make matters much worse and will not solve the problem that they are attempting to tackle. In my own opinion, the movie industry should be spending its time trying to find a better business model that takes advantage of the large online audience rather than trying to break the Internet. For these reasons, I'll be joining the blackout and plan to fight with my vote come November. While I haven't been part of the aniblogging community for very long, I hope that joining the blackout helps spread the word.

Images and media from Safebooru and Americancensorship.com.