Android app helps with the SOPA boycott

Program shows which manufacturers support the bill

An Android app is supposed to help opponents of the controversial "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) in their fight against the bill. When shopping, it shows which manufacturers are behind which product and whether they are supporters of the design or are connected to it. Tomorrow, Wednesday, numerous sites - including Wikipedia - will shut down as a protest against SOPA.

Consumers should generate pressure

The group "No More SOPA" http://nomoresopa.com is in charge of the tool and has now created a list of over 800 companies that support the bill or are close to a supporter. The "Boycott SOPA" app, which is available free of charge in the Android market, also accesses this database.

It consists of a simple barcode scanner. This means that the barcode of a product can be easily captured when shopping and compared with the information from the list of critics, which includes over 800 companies and brands. A result is then returned that shows the customer which side the manufacturer of the goods is on. This enables a targeted purchase boycott. However, music and film companies - the driving forces behind SOPA - are not included. A history of scans that have already been carried out can also be called up.

SOPA boycott

Fight: Strong headwinds for SOPA (Photo: FlickrCC / Christopher Dombres)

Anti-piracy law is likely to fail

"SOPA will, should it be decided, change the Internet dramatically for the worse. This app should help you to express your displeasure with the law and help to make it fail", so the description of the authors.

The program is enjoying increasing popularity and has been downloaded more than 10.000 times from the Android market. Well-known sites like Wikipedia will take part in a protest against the draft tomorrow, Wednesday, and will discontinue the service at short notice. Google and numerous other internet companies have already spoken out against the law. The White House also spoke out critically on Monday.

A failure of the "act against online piracy" is therefore becoming more and more likely. The vote in the House of Representatives was postponed for the time being. Now an agreement is to be reached first on various controversial passages.

"Boycott SOPA" in the Android Market:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.boycottsopa.android

Statement from the Obama administration:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/01/13/obama-administration-responds-we-people-petitions-sopa-and-online-piracy

(ck)

.

paste