Today you will find some of the web’s most popular sites fighting against two bills that threaten creativity, education, freedom of speech, and access to knowledge. This has all been brought to life in order to stop piracy on the Internet. Congress’ main concern is the entertainment industry. So that cute video you have of your baby dancing to “Single Ladies,” will be banned from the web and you will be accused of pirating music – you could also be sued.

Major websites have stepped up to the plate in support against SOPA. Google, while not blacking out their site, has blacked out there homepage logo, though the search engine is still running. Assuming Google makes $36 billion dollars this year, shutting down their search engine for 24 hours would cost them $98,630,136.99 – that is almost 20 million cups of Starbucks. Sites like Reddit, Wikipedia, and The Oatmeal have blacked out completely. All of these sites have the potential to be shut down and sued if these bills pass. This will greatly affect our economy and put a lot of people out of work – all so actors and production companies can keep making millions, if not billions of dollars per film.

The idea, at first seems like it makes sense – block pirating sites, and ask search engines to remove any links to these sites. However, the user can still get to these websites by using the IP address, and now the government has the power to censor the Internet. This means if someone comments on your blog post, and they insert a link or image that you don’t own, you could be shut down. Say goodbye to personal blogs, sites that mainly focus on sharing, social networks, and educational sites, like Wikipedia that use many sources to help bring knowledge to the world.

We’ve collated a collection of SOPA/PIPA infographics that will help explain why this legislation must be stopped. You might ask, “what can I do?” Fight for your rights! Contact your congressional representative, sign a petittion, and share with everyone you know via Facebook, Twitter and G+. You can also blackout your site or blog. The freedom on the Internet has allowed us to protest bills like these, create jobs, and it has helped us to share the truth and stay connected. This is not another thing we want to give the government full power over – this is ours.

1. | Protect IP/SOPA Act Breaks the Internet

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

2. | Congress Cn You Hear Us?

3. | Contact Congressional Supporters of SOPA Today

4. | SOPA: The Internet Blacklist Bill

5. | Behind SOPA: What it Means for Business and Innovation

6. | A World Without Wikipedia