Can Anonymous organize the anti-CISPA internet blackout on April 22nd?

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act has not drawn the same uproar that its SOPA predecessor received last year. It’s not because it’s any less dangerous to the privacy of those using the internet. It’s not that there’s any less information about it. CISPA is on a path to fly through Congress and onto the President’s desk without much of a cry because the US government learned from their mistakes the first time. This time, they did the two things they do best. The spun it and then they bargained their way into favor with the larger entities of the internet to get them to let this one slide through.

The slide is already happening. It was overwhelmingly passed in the House of Representatives and is looking at likely passage in the Senate. SOPA died in the Senate largely due to the tremendous outcry from the internet. Now, the same thing is being attempted again, but this time it isn’t Reddit, Wikipedia, and other large public-facing entities that are organizing it. This time, it’s Anonymous, the loosely organized hacker group, that is leading the charge.

Will it be enough?

They released a video detailing a call for an internet blackout similar to the one that helped to stop SOPA. Will enough websites comply? Will Wikipedia shut down? Will thousands of blogs post messages of the blackout, encouraging people to contact their Senators to tell them not to vote for the bill? We will see. We are hopeful. Here’s the video they released followed by a transcript of their statement on the subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_nFyavcld4

The United States Government is again attempting to control and censor the internet. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act has just recently passed the house.

This bill would allow major internet entities such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google to voluntarily share your personal information with the U.S. Government. This will not only effect users in the United States, but also anyone with an account with these companies.

This upcoming Monday, April the 22nd, we invite you to join Anonymous in a internet blackout. We encourage all web developers and website owners to go dark on this date. Display a message as to why you are going dark, and encourage others to do the same.

We hope, just like the successful protest over the Stop Online Piracy Act, we can encourage the senate to stop this bill.

Spread the message, and inform the world.

We are Anonymous
We are the people
We are the internet

Knowledge is free