An open letter from the Editor:

On Wednesday, January 18, Gift Guide Online, along with Google, Wikipedia, Reddit and thousands of other websites, will take part in a massive Internet blackout protest. The blackout is a protest against proposed legislation in the United States—the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECTIP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate—that, if passed, would seriously damage the free and open Internet.

SOPA & PIPA are two US bills racing through Congress that threaten prosperity, online security, and freedom of expression. The PROTECT IP Act is dangerous, ineffective, and short-sighted. The House version, SOPA, just introduced by Rep. Goodlatte is far worse. By blacking ourselves out, even at the expense of lost revenue, all participating Web sites hope to raise awareness of what we know is a dangerous bill that will attempt to curb online piracy in an inherently unconstitutional manor.

We at Gift Guide Online support everyone’s right to freedom of thought and freedom of expression. We believe in a free and open Internet where information can be shared without impediment. We believe that new proposed laws like SOPA and PIPA, and other similar laws under discussion inside and outside the United States, do not advance the interests of the general public but instead the special interests of those that lobby and pay to have their bidding done at the legislative level. SOPA threatens, rather than protects, property rights, and also threatens the Internet for all Americans (despite all the talk about this bill being directed only toward “rogue” foreign sites, there is no question that it targets U.S. companies as well).

Hollywood appears to have grown tired of those pesky DMCA laws that help protect innovation, economic growth, and creativity- rather than outdated business models- so they are trying to rewrite the rules and regulate the Internet without regard for the consequences posed on the rest of us. Please join Stop American Censorship and SOPA Strike, or Blackout SOPA if you’re on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

On Jan 24th, Congress will vote to pass internet censorship in the Senate, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. We need to kill the bill - PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House - to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity. It’s time to stand up for the Internet. Please join us…

Cheers,
Thea Reid
Founder/Editor-at-Large
Gift Guide-Online.com

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