SOPA: The internet blacklist bill
(accessible infographic edition)

A new bill will allow the US Government to block Americans from visiting websites.

How does the blocking work?
DNS blocking, the same censorship method used by China, Iran, and Syria. The U.S. sets precedents for Internet law around the globe, which means censorship could become the new standard.

When does a site get blocked?
A few infringing links are enough to block a site full of elgal material, and sites become liable for user-posted content.

A website operator could face...
Blocked US web traffic. Blocked ad revenue. Blocked search traffic.
As a result, sites' self-censorship increases dramatically. Fewer startups launch due to riskier legal climate. 

What sites are at greatest risk?
Anywhere people are expressing themselves or finding content: social networks, hosting sites, personal pages.

How does this affect:
Any American user: Sites you visit daily could be blocked. Email providers may be forced to censor certain links you send or receive. The links and content you share on social networks will be carefully monitored and possibly censored. This could include "accidentally" removing legitimate links when looking for infringing links.
Anti-censorship initiatives: TOR websites/network get blocked. Alternative DNS services get blocked. Tools used by democracy activists in China and Iran will be blocked in the US.

Could this possibly become the law?
Yes. The following two bills have a lot of support in congress, thanks to numerous lobbies.

In the senate, the protect IP act has 21 Democrat co-sponsors and 15 Republican co-sponsors. It was sponsored by Patrick Leahy.

In the house, the stop online piracy act has 7 Democrat co-sponsors and 16 Republican co-sponsors. It was sponsored by Lamar Smith.

Our basic internet freedoms are on the chopping block-- it's time to tell your congress person that American Censorship isn't OK.

TAKE ACTION: AmericanCensorship.org