The Senate is set to vote on PIPA (the Protect Intellectual Property Act) on January 24, 2012. This vote could determine how online information on sites like Google, and Wikipedia are released to the public. Sites like our own are voicing that this act, as well as SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) go to far in their attempt to limit what is available online.

We recently reported that several artists like Ok Go, Trent Reznor, and Amanda Palmer all cosigned an online petition against the SOPA and PIPA acts. These both would establish legal guidelines for what information is available publicly online that also protects the owner of the “intellectual property.”

The New York Times claims that there may be some misunderstanding between those who view these acts as damaging to a technological business, and those who would consent the both acts’ abilities to avoid internet piracy. They wrote that the world of technology’s “…main concern is that the tech industry had little influence on the language of the legislation, which is still in flux and so broadly worded that it is not entirely clear how internet businesses will be affected. Big internet companies say the bills could prevent entire Web sites from appearing in search results– even if the sites operate legally and most content creators want their videos or music to appear there.”

A few days ago, sites like Google, Wikipedia, and Craigslist participated in an internet-wide “blackout.” During this, the websites’ functions were unavailable to the public for 24 hours. This was their attempt to show their stance on the acts. Companies that are in support of SOPA and PIPA are the Motion Picture Association of America, News Corporation, and the Recording Industry Association of America.

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