Don’t mess with Dick: Twitter CEO speaks out against Google, censorship, and SOPA

January 30, 2012 9:16 PM Jennifer Van Grove
Jennifer Van Grove

Editor's Pick

If Twitter is to become a dominant web company and live up to the accidental potential its original founders never intended, it will do so under the leadership of its well-spoken, quick-witted and confident CEO Dick Costolo.

Costolo, CEO of …

What is ACTA and why are thousands of Europeans protesting it?

January 28, 2012 11:20 AM Dylan Tweney
Dylan Tweney

Has Europe gone mad? A trade agreement most Americans have never heard of has sparked outrage and protests across the pond.

Twenty-two of the European Union’s 27 member states signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in Tokyo on January 26. …

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales: MPAA chairman Christopher Dodd should be fired

January 24, 2012 3:02 AM Jennifer Van Grove
Jennifer Van Grove

Editor's Pick

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales had fighting words for Motion Picture Association of America chairman Christopher Dodd, calling the former Senator and current lobbyist out on his recent threats and pronouncing that the MPAA should fire its chief.

“Candidly, those who …

Anonymous wants to shut down Facebook on Jan. 28

January 23, 2012 11:50 AM Meghan Kelly
Meghan Kelly

Anonymous is planning another attack on Facebook, and this time they want your help.

“While SOPA and PIPA may be postponed from congress, this does not guarantee that our Internet rights will be upheld,” said an Anonymous member in a …

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski calls for SOPA compromise

January 22, 2012 10:19 AM Jennifer Van Grove
Jennifer Van Grove

The Stop Online Privacy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act may be on hiatus, but what’s really at stake are two equally critical values that don’t necessarily have to be in opposition of each other, Federal Communications Commission chairman …

SOPA is essentially dead, and we killed it

January 20, 2012 3:13 PM Tom Cheredar
Tom Cheredar

Following the news that the Senate is delaying a vote the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued a statement today admitting that Congress may need to rethink its approach to thwarting piracy.

Smith …

ESA calls for post-SOPA balance of “creative and technology interests”

January 20, 2012 3:07 PM Dean Takahashi
Dean Takahashi

Trade associations are weighing in on the delay of the vote on the Stop Online Privacy Act — a delay that may have effectively killed the anti-piracy legislation.

The video game industry trade group, the Entertainment Software Association, (headed by …

Senate Majority Leader delays vote on PIPA

January 20, 2012 7:46 AM Tom Cheredar
Tom Cheredar

A vote on the highly debated proposed piece of legislation the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) has been postponed, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced today.

PIPA, which was previously scheduled for a vote Jan. 24, is essentially the …

Department of Justice shutdown of rogue site MegaUpload shows SOPA is unnecessary

January 20, 2012 4:36 AM Ben Popper
Ben Popper

A strange confluence of events brought the question of how to deal with online piracy to the forefront of the American consciousness this week. Protests against the anti-piracy bills, SOPA and PIPA, were the major news of the day on …

Top 5 reasons to support SOPA

January 19, 2012 4:02 PM Sebastian Haley
Sebastian Haley

You’re likely a little sick of hearing about SOPA by now. I know I’m sure as hell tired of writing about it. But yesterday, everyone from Google to Wikipedia protested the highly controversial bill, commonly resulting in a blackout of …

10 things you need to know about SOPA and PIPA

January 19, 2012 8:52 AM Tom Cheredar
Tom Cheredar

The furor over SOPA and PIPA has died down, but the bills have not gone away.

In fact, there’s more reason than ever to pay close attention to the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261) and the Senate’s corresponding …

25 senators come out against PIPA anti-piracy bill

January 19, 2012 2:16 AM Tom Cheredar
Tom Cheredar

A total of 25 U.S. senators have publicly stated their opposition to the highly debated piece of anti-piracy legislation, the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

The news comes a little over a day after several sites across the internet participated in …

Silicon Valley luminaries protest SOPA in downtown San Francisco

January 18, 2012 2:39 PM Sarah Mitroff
Sarah Mitroff

Angel investor Ron Conway, Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake, Craiglist founder Craig Newmark, and rapper MC Hammer spoke to a crowd of more than a hundred people today at an anti-SOPA protest in San Francisco.

One speaker who garnered a lot …

How to work around Wikipedia’s blackout: 5 easy options you can do at home

January 18, 2012 12:49 PM Jolie O'Dell
Jolie O'Dell

Whether you’re doing homework, researching the latest advances in sedation dentistry, or just wasting time “educating” yourself on the bottomless pit of trivia that is Wikipedia, you’re probably a little bit inconvenienced by today’s site-wide blackout.

Here’s how you can …

Mark Zuckerberg asks his 11M Facebook subscribers to stop SOPA

January 18, 2012 12:00 PM Jennifer Van Grove
Jennifer Van Grove

When Mark Zuckerberg speaks, people listen. Wednesday, the celebrity Facebook founder is wielding this power and influence to fight the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act using the best tool at his disposal: the social network he …

The lights fade at Flickr in site-wide SOPA protest

January 18, 2012 10:12 AM Jennifer Van Grove
Jennifer Van Grove

Flickr is letting the people of the web suck the life and beauty out of its site today.

The Yahoo-owned photo-sharing service is encouraging members to darken photos for a 24-hour period with a “Darken this photo” call-to-action on each …

New York tech community unites to protest SOPA (live, pics)

January 18, 2012 10:01 AM Ben Popper
Ben Popper

Hundreds of New York techies are gathered on 3rd Avenue and 49th Street, below trees strewn with holiday lights, waving signs and handing out flyers. “Stop SOPA, Pass on PIPA” they chanted.

The gathering was held outside the offices of …

VBWeekly: We call Congress about SOPA (video)

January 18, 2012 6:30 AM Jolie O'Dell
Jolie O'Dell

For our weekly video show, we decided that not only were we going to talk about SOPA; we were going to do something about SOPA.

Also, this was our CES wrap-up show, and Chris Peri, who was there to see …

3 million people and counting sign petitions against SOPA and PIPA

January 18, 2012 5:55 AM Ben Popper
Ben Popper

Update: Google said that 4.5 million people have added their signatures to the SOPA/PIPA petition since this morning. Mark Zuckerberg also threw his hat in the ring, Silicon Alley had a rad protest and a bunch of legislators who …