Demand Progress delivered 500k signatures in opposition to the Internet Blacklist Bill yesterday — at a press conference alongside Congresmembers Zoe Lofgren and Darrell Issa. (That’s our David Moon to the left of the podium.) The video is very dry -- we'll try to cut it up and make it more digestible soon.
The legislation gets heard today, but the hearing is stacked against us: five witnesses support the legislation; one (Google) opposes it. No civil liberties or human rights concerned non-profits will get to testify; nor will any groups representing grassroots Internet users.
Still, there reason for hope -- an there’s an unprecedented avalanche of opposition is snowballing among online advocacy groups tech companies, and rank-and-file Internet users.
Opponents object to provisions that would allow the government to block users’ access to websites accused of copyright infringement, jail users for uploading streamed content, and require social media sites and blogs to go to new lengths to police users’ contributions — threatening the very existence of sites like YouTube and Twitter.
A bipartisan group of tech-savvy lawmakers is circulating a letter in opposition to SOPA. And tech companies that stand to lose -- Twitter, Yahoo, and the like -- just launched a joint effort against the legislation. Last month Yahoo actually quit the Chamber of Commerce over the Chamber's support of the bill.
You can still email your lawmakers and ask them to oppose the legislation by clicking here.