How To "Go Dark" in Protest of SOPA/PIPA

By now, you probably know how we feel about Internet blacklist legislation. While it is not typically our style to talk politics, the nature of these bills directly impacts the very industry that Media Temple and many of you have a huge role in. The outcome will potentially affect our jobs, livelihood, and for many of us, our biggest passion.

Tomorrow, many sites will go dark for 24 hours in protest of the SOPA/PIPA acts being pushed through Congress. There are many ways that you can show your support for freedom of the Internet. Whether you want to blackout your site, or take a more modest approach, here are some tips on how to show where you stand.

Blackout Your Site

You can accomplish a “blackout” of your site by simply altering your main index page. While you can input whatever content you’d like (or no content at all!), Zachary Johnson has a great blackout example here. You can find his code on Github.

Enable CloudFlare’s stop_sensorship App

Our friends at CloudFlare have an app available that is built to help you take a stance in a creative way. Visitors to a site with the app enabled will see a censored version of the page, with words longer than five characters blacked out. If you are a (mt) customer, you can enable CloudFlare in the AccountCenter.

Redirect Your Site

Another way to participate is by redirecting your site by editing your .htaccess file, or using our handy Redirect Domains tool in the AccountCenter. You might want to consider redirecting to an organization that shares your stance. We like the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Change Your Profile Picture

blackoutsopa.org provides an easy way to display that you are not a fan of the big bad SOPA/PIPA. You can use these badges in place of your usual social media profile pictures.

Our CEO Demian Sellfors has stated that he does not support the censorship of the “freedom and openness of the Internet”. If you agree, then help stop Internet blacklist legislation. Feel free to comment with your favorite examples or other helpful information.