The Internet went dark on Wednesday. In protest to the Stop Online Piracy Act that was introduced to the House of Representatives, 75,000 websites like Wikipedia, Google, Reddit, Boing Boing, Craigslist and Flickr imposed a website “blackout.”

If it is passed SOPA, also known as House Bill 3261, would give the U.S. Attorney General the authorization to issue a court order requiring U.S. Internet companies to eliminate American access to foreign piracy websites.

Thirteen percent of American adults have illegally watched movies or TV shows online, which costs media companies billions of dollars, according to The Motion Picture Association of America, a SOPA supporter.

The document, which was issued in the Oct. 26 by Rep. Lamar Smith, would also created a two-pronged approach dedicated to giving the infringed upon property right holder because of the negligence of a “U.S.-directed site” to take legal action against sites that do not comply with the law.

Smith is the house judiciary committee chairman.

Wikipedia’s English website, which was one website to completely blackout, had a state representative generator that gave the contact information for state representation related to a given zip code.

The other language versions of Wikipedia were functioning as normal.

People viewing the site could then contact their representatives to voice their opposition or approval of said bill.

Becca George, a junior special education major, said she thinks it is important for people to speak out against things they think are unjust.

“I just wonder how much they will get accomplished for shutting down Wikipedia for a day, I mean, it is a great opportunity to show if they are not for it,” George said.

David Melton, assistant professor of the school of technology, said he thinks the Internet at its core is to for everyone to freely share and receive information faster than ever before.

“We used to use libraries, we used to use our neighbors, our community and now we have access to information globally,” he said. “People need information and the Internet is there.”

The Internet was a natural progress of the human relationship, he said.

“It allows us to have other opinions besides the ones that are generated locally,” Melton said.

“It allows us to have other opinions besides the ones that are generated locally,” Melton said.

Colleen Walsh, a junior family and consumer sciences major, was unaware of the cyber-protests, but said she thinks the action drawn from the blackout will start a greater discussion.

George said she thinks a petition against the laws would also be effective.

“There are so many ways that people feel like its infringing upon their rights and I would agree,” she said. “By saying that we can’t take a YouTube video and post it on Facebook, then everyone is going to be breaking the law.”

Melton said the bills will undoubtedly infringe upon the rights of Americans.

“The one thing that could concern me is that I could be tracked because those are things that are private to me as an individual,” Melton said. “We can’t have where government or anybody should be able to control our lives.”

Melton said countries like China, who regulates which websites its citizens can see, should be a cautionary tale.

Melton said he is glad individual people and not just big corporations are taking a stand.

“My opinion is that anybody that is opposed to it should step up and protest or make a statement,” Melton said.

Tom Bossier is a worker at the Gregg Technology Center and said he is vehemently against SOPA.

“It gives the government more power to abuse,” Bossier said.

Bossier is a senior management information systems major and has been working for the Gregg for four semester.

“It may not affect (students) yet, but it will, it is basically the Patriot Act for the Internet,” Bossier said. “It will start out small, but once we start giving up our privacy and our civil liberties-who knows when it will stop.”

Adrienne Crawford, a junior elementary education major, is a worker at the Gregg Technology Center and said she sees a lot of students use Wikipedia while using the lab.

Nick Dano, a senior philosophy major, said he is in favor of stopping online piracy even though he admits to being a violator “a long time ago.”

“It really feels like theft when we are able to download stuff for free,” Dano said.

Dano said he thinks it’s smart for copyright owners to try and protect themselves.

Kara Mobley, a junior early childhood education major, said she first heard about SOPA and PIPA when her friends began posting petition links on Facebook.

“I want know more about it,” Mobley said. “I just can’t make an informed discussion yet.”

Mobley said she is glad it started a serious conversation.

“I’ve heard people discussing it all day and it’s been interesting,” she said.

Another potential law that is also spurring similar reactions is the Protect Intellectual Property Act was introduced by Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy.

Facebook creator Mark Zuckerburg released a statement in opposition of SOPA and PIPA despite receiving criticism for his website for not participating in the blackout.

“We can’t let poorly thought out laws get in the way of the Internet’s development. Facebook opposes SOPA and PIPA, and we will continue to oppose any laws that will hurt the Internet,” Zuckerburg said in a status update. “The world today needs political leaders who are pro-Internet.”

Wednesday was scheduled to be the day the House would reconvene in Washington, D.C. to hear the bill, but after protests were made from across the country and cyberspace the House decided to postpone the hearing for a month.

PIPA, however, is supposed to be discussed in the Senate on Jan. 24.

Nike Ogunbodede can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].