SOPA/PIPA

SOPA and PIPA are two two legal concepts in the United States of America that are currently under attack. What they mean is: Everyone that drives the net in the USA, from the internet service provider, the backbone providers to the websites and search engines of companies like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, has to filter the content. Just like in China, Iran, and North Korea, information would no longer be free on the internet.

I do not live in the USA, why would I bother?

Imagine what happens to the internet when the three biggest search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing) no longer work.

But they will filter illegal content only!

First, they will filter content that illegal in the USA, not necessarily in your country. Do you remember the Flickr censorship debate?

Second, these papers would make sites illegal that link to sites that contain content considered illegal. If Wikipedia contained one forbidden page, above link would result in teilweise.org getting banned, too.