Protest against SOPA, PIPA includes SU’s iSchool

SYRACUSE — Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies (iSchool) is participating in a protest today against two bills in Congress aimed at combating online piracy.

Supporters of the bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate, say they are meant to fight the spread of material on the Web in violation of copyright laws. Groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the entertainment industry are strongly in favor of the bills.

But the iSchool, along with companies like Google and groups like the Wikimedia Foundation, argue the legislation could curtail free speech online and endanger sites with user-generated content like Facebook and Twitter. Today’s protest includes a 24-hour shutdown of sites including the English language version of Wikipedia and Reddit.

SU’s iSchool is participating by redirecting visitors to the school’s homepage, www.ischool.syr.edu, to a page with information opposing the bills and ways for people to get involved in the movement against the legislation. The page also includes a link allowing visitors to reach the school’s regular site.

J.D. Ross, a spokesman for the iSchool, says the school had to draw a balance between drawing attention to the legislation and providing services to students and staff.

The iSchool’s students are being trained to manage information and lead technology companies, Ross adds.

“We thought our students were the perfect audience for something like this,” he says. “Our goal really was to raise awareness among our audience of the possible harmful effects of this legislation if it passes.”

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com