Bozell, an integrated marketing agency an Omaha, has blacked out its website to protest SOPA and PIPA.
Don’t plan on turning to Wikipedia today to learn about the Stop Online Piracy Act (“SOPA”) or the Protect IP Act (“PIPA”), the site’s English version has been taken offline for 24 hours. And if you’re looking for a laugh, Lolcats and FAIL blog are down, as well. These sites, along with an estimated 7,000 others, have gone dark for some period of time today to protest the two internet censorship bills.
In the Silicon Prairie, we’ve rounded up the list of companies below who are either going lights out or featuring a message of protest. Leading the charge of the “SOPA Strike” across the web is Fight for the Future, a nonprofit with a mission to defend online freedom. Visit sopastrike.com to learn more and find action steps to participate.
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We’ve also listed the members of the U.S. House and Senate who have taken a public stance supporting SOPA or PIPA. A vote on PIPA is expected next week, and SOPA has been placed on hold but will resume in February.
Learn more about SOPA and PIPA in our post: “What new piracy legislation would mean for Silicon Prairie startups“, and for the latest check out articles published yesterday on Gizmodo, “What Is SOPA?“, and CNN, “SOPA explained: What it is and why it matters“.
List of Silicon Prairie companies protesting SOPA and PIPA
To add one, please leave a note in a comment below or email editor@siliconprairienews.com. This list will be updated throughout the day. Listed in alphabetical order.
Companies
- 48web.com (Des Moines)
- Archrival (Lincoln)
- BitMethod (Des Moines)
- Bozell (Omaha) – Announcement
- DivvyHQ (Kansas City) – Announcement
- Dwolla (Des Moines) – Announcement
- Evolve (Des Moines)
- GoodTwin Design (Omaha)
- Hetzel Creative (Glenwood, Iowa)
- Honeybadger Shirts (Des Moines)
- I-Hacked (Kansas City)
- Inez Gill (Omaha)
- LiveOn (Kansas City) – Announcement
- Lyconic (Omaha)
- Make Collaboration (Lincoln)
- Oxide Design (Omaha)
- RAYGUN (Des Moines)
- StartupCity Des Moines (Des Moines)
- Startup Iowa
- Surefoot Communications (Kansas City)
- Torsion Mobile (Des Moines) – Announcement
- Wristband Radio (Omaha)
Personal websites and miscellaneous
List of Silicon Prairie politicians supporting SOPA or PIPA
According to ProPublica, the following U.S. House and Senate members have taken a public stance supporting SOPA or PIPA. Only one politician from the four states, Sen. Jerry Moran (R) (@jerrymoran), has publicly come out against the bills and has since co-sponsored the OPEN Act, an alternative to the two. (See updates below)
Names linked to pages on Pro Publica with historical data and contact information for each politician.
Kansas (all stances)
- None (see note on Sen. Moran above)
Iowa (all stances)
- Sen. Charles E. Grassley (@chuckgrassley), Republican, Senate – (Update Jan. 19, 10:40 a.m. – In an official statement, Sen. Grassley no longer supports PIPA.)
Missouri (all stances)
- Sen. Roy Blunt (@royblunt), Republican, Senate – (Update Jan. 19, 10:40 a.m. – In a Facebook update, Sen. Blunt will remove his name as a co-sponsor of the bill.)
- Sen. Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc), Democrat, Senate – (Update Jan. 19, 3:35 p.m. – After communication from McCaskill’s office, ProPublica updated McCaskill’s status to “undecided” and explained the earlier identification of “supporter.” On Thursday, McCaskill publicly opposed the bill.)
Nebraska (all stances)
- Rep. Lee Terry (@leeterryne), Republican, House – (Update 9:20 a.m. – According to the Omaha World-Herald, Terry will remove his name as co-sponsor of the bill.)
Image credits: Screenshot from bozell.com.
