Tech Beats Hollywood with SOPA Blackout, But the Battle Continues

Wikipedia is back! Oh how we missed you. Hollywood faced off with Silicon Valley and lost lost LOST. So says TheWrap: "It seems that Hollywood still does not realize that it is in the information age... But with lightning speed, the leviathans of the Internet, including Google and Facebook and Wikipedia, managed to brand this battle as Bad and mobilize millions of followers." The day before the blackouts, the MPAA [Motion Picture Association of America] had characterized the pending blackouts as "stunts." Well, sometimes stunts work. By afternoon (ET), Mark Zuckerberg had expressed his opposition to the bills. "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," he wrote. During the course of the day, lawmakers were rethinking the bills. And President Obama has come out against the proposals. Forbes says 4.5 million signed Google's petition and millions more were in touch with their Congressional reps. Many in the PR industry were also pointing out how the bills could impact their businesses. The PRSA issued a statement of opposition, calling the legislation an "overreach" and a "threat to the innovation and development of the Internet." "It needs more debate, collaboration, and discussion among parties," Gerard Corbett, chair and CEO of the PRSA told us today. "My personal impression is Hollywood went into it looking at their particular focus and didn't broaden their perspective enough to see what their consumers see." But The L.A. Times reports that the bills are still a threat. And reports say that the MPAA is planning an ad campaign to continue its fight, perhaps, if they're successful, even re-frame the discussion. Don't forget to vote in our PRNewser poll about whether SOPA and PIPA would impact your work. Click here to vote. An share your blog posts and thoughts in the comments.

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Tech Beats Hollywood with SOPA Blackout, But the Battle Continues

Tonya Garcia

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Tonya Garcia