The internet was abuzz yesterday after two proposed pieces of legislation were sent to Congress that could potentially restrict access to certain websites. The bills, “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA) and “Protect IP Act” (PIPA), have gotten internet-users protesting and signing petitions right and left. So what exactly are SOPA and PIPA? In a nutshell, both are aimed at curtailing copyright infringement in the U.S.  But to some, they represent a serious violation against free speech, creativity and opinion sharing.

In one day alone, over 10,000 websites boycotted SOPA with a “blackout”, with Wikipedia as a main participator, intentionally shutting down their entire site for 24 hours in protest of the pending legislation. Along with the blackout, many more websites used the opportunity to educate internet users about the issue’s importance.

As of now, both bills stand to reach Congress, though there have been changes. With the amount of negative feedback received since yesterday morning, many legislators are now calling for more time to debate the issues, while others have withdrawn sponsorships of the bills entirely. As far as bill revisions go, legislators are working on amendments to Internet Service Provider (ISP) and Domain Name Systems (DNS) blocking provisions. These amendments look to address the most controversial issues of the two bills.

There are mixed feelings about these bills amongst legislators, online companies, the public, and the White House. Many online companies and social media sites are, rightly, fearful that this could lead to online censorship due to broad overstep of the bills. While some companies supporting the legislation are looking for a more effective way to deal with copyright infringement. Interestingly, Hollywood seems to have gotten in on the debate as well, with entertainment industry executives pushing hard for these anti-piracy bills, and trying to counter the growing opposition.

While we believe the bills are well-intentioned but flawed, the backlash from internet-users alone demonstrates the importance of social media, and the strong emotions elicited when access to it is threatened. We’ll be keeping an eye on these bills over the next week to provide you with the latest. Stay tuned!