Operation SOPA/PIPA Blackout
On January 18th, the entire XBMC.org website will go black in protest of SOPA/PIPA.
XBMC prefers to avoid political activism. It is our opinion that we are builders of software. Awesome software, to be precise. And we, as a group, do not care one bit how our users choose to use that software, nor do we have any interest in standing in our users way.
However, under provisions granted by SOPA/PIPA, if a copyright holder believes that any piece of our website violates their copyright, whether it be a picture in our forum, an item on our blog, or a single addon in one of our mirrors, they could use unprecedented measures to deny access to xbmc’s website and services without due process. (see EFF Report for a better and more thorough explanation)
In essence, we’d have to make a choice. Do we want to keep building awesome software and in so doing waste 75% of our coding time acting as the police officers of our users trying to find and delete every single piece of content that might potentially have copyright issues, or do we want to give up this project entirely?
We, the developers of XBMC, believe this “choice” is not a choice at all, and as such, we oppose this Bill.
We recognize that many disagree with our stance on this subject, and invite all to examine the text of the SOPA Bill, the coverage of the SOPA bill performed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and whatever sources you trust on this topic, before coming to your own conclusions.
It is for all these reasons and more that, on January 18th, we will be joining reddit, Raspberry Pi, XDA Developers, The Linux Forum, and numerous others by blacking out our website for the day. We invite you to educate yourself and then, if you live in America, contact your local congressman and senator to further this discussion.
oh noes and on 18th my new 42′ tv arrives
what if i need help configuring xbmc with it?
For Americans, I recommend understanding your right to due process (one of the enumerated rights in the Constitution): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8A1521C99D6ED8CE
The talk is given by a former computer programmer for a nuclear power plant.
please everybody,
don’t talk only here. talk in reallife too! take action!
who cares about a black website?! the website will be black anyways because the software (XBMC) supports illegal filmz….
@Loren Wagner
ups. my cynic-tags are filtered out…the last sentence was cynic…
Even out of US, I will follow you, XDA Dev and all the members of this one-day-association-for blackout.
I fear the day when words are under copyright, and writing “Movie”or “Music” or “Software” will violate one or more laws.
Rip DVD or R.I.P. Freedom, we now have a choice to make. I believe yours is the right one.
100% on board. SOPA is NOT the solution.
Here we go again, another distraction before the U.S. starts another war. It’s likely that the SOPA bill will fail but it will keep the natives distracted and divided while the government falsifies evidence and goes to war with Iran.Gone are the days of everyone being united and focused on the root of injustice. SOPA will fail and be a success.
SOPA seems to be “out of order”: http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/01/16/1457237/house-kills-sopa
http://searchengineland.com/blackout-your-site-without-hurting-seo-108302
But not dead. Just postponed until they can resolve the issues.
I agree 100 percent with you. If they do not want copiright material to be copied, close the industry of cd writers, virgins cd’s etc…Some lobotomies is not a bad idea. I love XBMC and the spirit of the org. Please do not give up
@Loren Wagner
I don’t remember XBMC ever supporting illegal films?
100% Agree, SOPA IS NOT A SOLUTION.
Maybe it’s because of 2012 – remember – The Maya announced the end of the fith cicle – ending with a bang to start from scratch.
What if SOPA and all these kind of regulations will bring the whole world to collapse?
Imagine that all new BD-Player, Tablets, TVs, PCs have software to play what anyone has on Disk, USBstick or any other Media.
So all these innovations will be useless because of the strange ideas of some people.
And regarding to all the more important problems we have on earth – do these people have nothing better to do than this?
Anyone should be happy to have a job, or to get a job opportunity – with regulations like that, thousends of jobs will just blow up – the end seems to come near…
And i’m from switzerland, where the download of medias (with Torrents or so) is allowed… still
100% behind this
继续支持你！
辛卯年(兔)腊月廿五 2012-1-18
the government censorship needs to end. all it is nothing but bullshit. all americans should sign a partition saying that government should leave it the way it is. im sharing this on facebook.
Typical, world domination-idiots!!!
Glad to see you guys are joining in on the black out. these bills need to be stopped in their current form before the do serious damage to the industry.
In Spain we have the same crap: The “Sinde law” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16391727).
Cinema industrie create a “black list” of web to be down…
So, through your useless rhetoric, you prove the point I was making… I don’t come to the site everyday (what I suspect most people as well) so one day isn’t going to matter to me (a user). So what will it really matter to “the movement.” So what outrage is it really going to spark? I understand, respect and agree with the intent, but really don’t how this will affect the “big picture.”
Good on you, XBMC. I think that every website should be joining this ‘blockade’.
As far as the folks who are complaining about missing XBMC for a day; imagine what it would be like if they had to shutdown forever?
@derp
This will just be for a few hours or a day.. If SOPA or PIPA pass, this will be indefinite..
My support is with you – my site is blacked out now http://www.a-swiss.info/ check and see – thx
WILL DO…
How come WIKIPEDIA is black but XBMC is still up at least 10 minutes after midnight?
Support XBMC in doing this but it is easy to get around…disable javascript in your browser and you can browse the blacked out websites just fine
disable java script and view blacked out websites :)
@Loren Wagner
By this logic, every gun owner is a killer.
@Cc And by your logic, “cynical” isn’t a word.
Hey im new to xbmc, i just wanted to know when will xbmc be back up and running like normal so i can watch movies…
How about the actions of FBI versus Megauploads?
Did you catch last nights debate. One of the questions asked was about sopa. None of the republican candidates said that they supported it.
My XBMC on my Apple TV is not working. Does anyone know why or have the same problems? All I see is a black screen then it kicks back to the main Apple TV menu…Please help!
all I have to say is ‘typical freaking Americans’ who think they own the freakin world!
My XBMC is not working properly. A lot of the movies are gone and some links are just not there.
I though that we (in Europe/Poland) are safe (at least for a moment) until I’ve learned today, that Poland is going to singn ACTA which same shit as PIPA/SOPA.
Our media was silent until almost today, when some of government web pages were finally blocked by hackers.
Long Live Internet!!!
NO TO ACTA/PIPA/SOPA.
To Aaron C. de Bruyn’s point, IF everyone could read and understand the U.S. Constitution, they would discover that over the past 200 years things like SOPA have been happening behind our collective backs to take away All Kinds of freedoms. And the past 3 years have seen this erosion escalate at an exponential pace. Private Property Rights, Search and Seizure, Private Corporate Operations, just to name a few. Of course, it’s not until it affects one of us or our direct interests, that we sit up and take notice. And we’re STILL “finding out what is in” the 0bamaKare Legislation.
Of course, we all have lives and can’t possibly keep our eye on every shenanigan our governments are pulling on their citizens and the people we “elect” to give that power to are as involved, or become involved, in it themselves. No State is safe from the corruption of Power. Today SOPA, tommorrow SOPA Lite and then more non-voted on regulation…
I believe the Great Experiment of the United States has almost completely failed, and the citizens are as responsible for it as the Government is.
Uhm, yeah, and who do ALL the Freakin’ countries in the Freakin’ World come to expecting a Freakin’ Handout whenever they can’t handle something on their own ??
Typical.
@kand
Get off your lazy freeloading butt and get your own movies, that’s what XBMC is really for.