[Foundation-l] (PRESS RELEASE) Statement from the Wikimedia Foundation regarding developments in Washington on SOPA and PIPA

[Jay Walsh]

http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Statement_on_Jan_20_events_in_Washington

*Statement from the Wikimedia Foundation regarding developments in
Washington on SOPA and PIPA*

San Francisco, CA -- January 20, 2012 -- On January 18, millions of people
called their Congressional representatives to denounce SOPA and PIPA as
attacks on the free and open Internet. This morning, leaders in the House
and Senate announced consideration of the bills would be indefinitely
postponed, after many members of Congress, including some supporters of the
bills, issued statements disassociating themselves from the legislation
over the past two days.

Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, said:

The Wikimedia Foundation welcomes these developments. This is another step
towards the ultimate destruction of these two pieces of proposed
legislation. But let’s be clear, these bills are not dead. They will
return, and when they do, they must not harm the interests of the hundreds
of millions of people who contribute to the free and open Internet.

The blackout was led by millions of ordinary Internet users, and the people
who make projects like Wikipedia possible - writers, photographers, editors
and illustrators. They sent a clear message to Congress: don’t mess with
free expression, don’t destroy the free and open Internet, don’t do the
bidding of traditional corporate interests. This is a moment in history
when the people who create and share works on the Internet as part of the
free knowledge movement, and the people who depend on access to those
works, are asking to be heard and to have their freedom of speech protected.


*About the Wikimedia Foundation*
http://wikimediafoundation.org
http://blog.wikimedia.org

The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore Media Metrix,
Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation
receive more than 474 million unique visitors per month, making them the
fifth-most popular web property world-wide (comScore, November 2011).
Available in 282 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 20 million
articles contributed by a global volunteer community of more than 100,000
people. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is an
audited, 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and
grants.

Media Contact:

Jay Walsh
Head of Communications
Wikimedia Foundation
Tel. +1 415 839 6885 x 6609
jwalsh at wikimedia.org