HN Explorer

Ask HN: why is Wikipedia down outside America?

2 points by mooism2 ↗ HN
English language Wikipedia is down, to protest against SOPA+PIPA. Ok, great.

Individual Americans can lobby their Congresspeople, vote against them, donate money to their opponents. Non-Americans cannot do these things.

Why is Wikipedia down for non-Americans? To raise my awareness? What can I do with that awareness?

7 comments

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0xdeadc0de
What can users outside of the U.S. do to support this effort?

Readers who don't live in the United States can contact their local State Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or similar branch of government. Tell them that you oppose the draft U.S. SOPA and PIPA legislation, and all similar legislation. SOPA and PIPA will have a global effect - websites outside of the U.S. would be impacted by legislation that hurts the free and open web. And, other jurisdictions are grappling with similar issues, and may choose paths similar to SOPA and PIPA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Lear...

mooism2
Does the US State Department actually tell legislators when foreigners oppose laws they are considering? To what extent do US legislators allow that to sway their decision?
nodata
Because America is pressuring other countries to adopt their stupid law.
mooism2
Sure, but then we have to oppose it when our own countries attempt to introduce that law here. Whether SOPA/PIPA pass has no influence on this (see e.g. Spain).
zachinglis
Spain isn't a superpower like the US is.
mooism2
How did it help the Spanish that SOPA+PIPA aren't already the law in America? They had a law foisted on them anyway.
zachinglis
Because if America passed such a law, it would give precedent for other countries to do something similar. Making sure everyone is aware is a valiant thing to do.