Wikipedia’s Wednesday Walkout

Don’t expect to have Wikipedia as a resource on Wednesday. The entire English version of the site will be blacked out for 24 hours.  No, they are not doing scheduled site maintenance or taking a holiday.  They are doing a virtual walkout on the internet in protest of the proposed SOPA legislation winding its way through Congress, which they and many most other online companies view as a major threat to a free and open internet.

From Wikipedia’s press release -

“On January 18, 2012, in an unprecedented decision, the Wikipedia community has chosen to blackout the English version of Wikipedia for 24 hours, in protest against proposed legislation in the United States — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and PROTECTIP (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate. If passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and bring about new tools for censorship of international websites inside the United States.”

While Wikipedia has tried to remain apolitical on all other issues, staying true to an editorial mission to be a neutral resource of fact, it seems that the threat of SOPA/PIPA is in such direct opposition to the best interests of their readers that they simply could not take a stand.  Their goal for the blackout is clear – “We want the Internet to remain free and open, everywhere, for everyone.”

Hard to disagree with that.