Wikipedia protests anti-piracy law

Online encyclopaedia will go offline for 24 hours in protest at US government's proposed anti-piracy legislation

Wikipedia has added its name to the growing list of organisations opposed to a US government-led attempt to shake up the laws governing online piracy.

The user-generated online encyclopaedia is to shut down its English-language site for 24 hours in protest at plans to push through two pieces of legislation: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).

It claims, if approved, the acts would harm the openness of the internet.

SOPA, which is being backed by the House of Representatives, would allow the US government and copyright owners to request court orders to shut down websites associated with piracy.

The aim of the US Senate-backed PIPA legislation is similar, and also includes tools to curb access to websites based outside the US.

In a statement on the Wikimedia blog, the organisation confirmed it would stage a "blackout" for 24 hours starting from 5am (GMT) tomorrow.

"This will be the first time the English Wikipedia has ever staged a public protest of this kind, and it is a decision that was not lightly made," wrote Sue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation.

In a further press statement, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales described the proposed legislation as "destructive".

"This is an extraordinary action for our community to take [but] we simply cannot ignore the fact that SOPA and PIPA endanger free speech both in the United States and abroad, and set a frightening precedent of internet censorship for the world," Wales said.

Wikipedia's protest follows on from Russia-based vendor Kaspersky exiting the Business Software Alliance (BSA) at the start of this month after the anti-piracy body gave SOPA its backing.

At the time, the BSA released a statement expressing its disappointment at Kaspersky's decision, adding that it had some reservations about the SOPA proposals.

"We are very disappointed, given [that] we share many of their concerns over SOPA," the statement read.

"Kaspersky has been a valued member of BSA over the past two years, and we look forward to working with them again in the future."