History buffs, mark January 18, 2012 on your calendars. That was the day the Internet shut down and sent an unmistakable message to the (former) formidable old guard…in urban vernacular it’s known as a ‘bitch slap’.
Protesting two bills in Congress – the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and Protect I.P. Act in the Senate – hundreds of popular websites shut down. Of more far-reaching significance was the surprisingly-effective lobbying efforts by technology companies such as Wikipedia, Twitter and Google to use their massive reach to influence online users all for political gain.
That would be like some companies (say, oil companies) joining together to shut off their supply all for economic and political gain. Oh, I forgot, we’ve been down that road before.
So next time you’re online and the Internet decides to shut down because technology companies don’t like this or that, just remember January 18, 2012 and the how a potent political weapon was aimed square at the heart of the American people.
