WordPress, along with the likes of Reddit, the Cheezburger Network, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, and others, has joined the newly formed Internet Defense League – an organization whose mission is to broadcast a kind of “bat signal” that will “mobilize the planet to defend the internet from bad laws & monopolies.”
No, seriously.
The History
Do you like the “Stop Censorship” ribbon that’s displayed on WordPress.org? Get your own by installing the Stop Censorship Ribbon plugin. It looks exactly like the one you currently see on the wordpress.org website and links to the American Censorship website.
Show your support for keeping the web free and open by installing this and other anti-censorship plugins:
7 WordPress Plugins to Fight SOPA / PIPA
Fight Internet Censorship by Turning Your WordPress Site Into a Proxy
In light of the recent worldwide internet protests against SOPA / PIPA, I’d like to introduce the RePress Project. RePress is a WordPress plugin for those just radical enough to actually do something about censorship. It’s a tool that gives average WordPress users the power to make a difference, especially for websites that have already been censored.
Here’s the RePress plugin in a nutshell:
This plugin allows you to circumvent internet censorship by proxying traffic to websites that have been blocked by repressive regimes.
The past few weeks have been interesting for non-Americans. Some of us have been following the SOPA controversy closely, while others just don’t give a damn. That’s not a good idea, if such a monstrosity would be passed in the States then it would surely strike back at us in the rest of the world as well, Europe in particular.
I don’t want that. Don’t fuck with my internetz please!
In case you haven’t heard, WordPress.org has decided to join the January 18th internet blackout in protest of SOPA / PIPA. According to Jane Wells, “It will be an interstitial blackout screen, not a full shutdown.” That means you’ll still be able to download plugins and reach the codex and find everything that you need.
There’s no doubt that WordPress.org’s participation in the blackout will serve to increase awareness across the web. WordPress joins many other major websites in the blackout, including Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla, MoveOn.org, icanhazCheezburger Network, and Good.is, to name a few.
On January 18th, many sites across the web will be protesting SOPA by going black, including Reddit and possibly Wikipedia, as well as tons of other smaller sites.
How to join the protest:
If you’d like to join the protest, it’s very easy. Download the Stop SOPA plugin from the WordPress repository. Many thanks to Brooke Dukes for creating this free tool to help the WordPress community protest. The STOP SOPA plugin will automatically blackout your site for you on January 18th from 8am to 8pm.
What will my site look like during the blackout?
You may have noticed the new black button on the WordPress.org website. WordPress has officially posted its opposition to the SOPA/PIPA bills, which are coming up for vote on January 24, 2012.
It’s no surprise that WordPress is making a public stand, as the software powers roughly 15% of the web. Anyone who has anything to do with the internet knows that SOPA drives a severe blow to innovation and freedom of speech.
Not familiar with the bills? Watch this video for a quick overview:
Here’s a quick comparison chart from KeepTheWebOpen.com that breaks down how these bills would be applied:
