Aero Digital Life

After a 24-hour blackout, Wikipedia has returned to full working order but declared: “We’re not done yet.” The site had blocked its content for 24 hours in protest at proposed anti-piracy legislation in the US. The encyclopaedia said the site had been viewed 162 million times, with eight million people following instructions to contact politicians. The protest led to eight US lawmakers withdrawing their support for the proposed bills. Two of the bill’s co-sponsors, Marco Rubio from Florida and Roy Blunt from Missouri, are among those who have withdrawn their support after “legitimate concerns”. But backers of the legislation, led by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), described the action as an “irresponsible” publicity “stunt”. The Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa) have caused considerable controversy among internet users and businesses since the plans were proposed in October last year. ‘Melted servers’ Wednesday’s co-ordinated action was intended to raise the profile of the debate to those outside of the tight-knit technology community - an objective Wikipedia said had been met. “More than 162 million people saw our message asking if you could imagine a world without free knowledge,” the site said.

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