January 18^th, 2012 was a bad day for the US’ Stop Online Piracy Act. Anyone who spends a considerable amount of time on the internet could tell you why.

In an effort to combat the legislation that could potentially censor the internet for millions of Americans, hundreds of web-based businesses and organizations banded together for a day of blackouts. It is hoped that the metaphorical show-of-force will cause SOPA’s waning support base to shrink further.

Notable among the anti-SOPA movement are Wikipedia, Mojang, Zynga, Epic Games, Bungie, Reddit and Razer , along with a small army of webcomic artists, bloggers, and tweeters, and of course, GizmoInsider. But who gives a damn what the internet thinks, right? I bet that’s what some U.S. politicians were mumbling to themselves as they watched the media reports unfold.  So who are these organizations fighting internet censorship?

Internet notables band together against SOPA

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, and usually one of the top search results when most terms are typed into a search engine. Wikipedia has become the internet’s resource for quick and dirty information. What made Wikipedia so special was that it didn’t operate as a closed ecosystem, as with a more traditional encyclopedia. Harnessing the collective knowledge of the internet, Wikipedia allowed just about anyone to contribute to articles. All that was required was a computer, and internet access. The Wikipedia website was blocked for the entire day, with an anti-SOPA explanation posted at the usual Wikipedia URL. The message urges Wikipedia users to imagine a world without free information.

Zynga is the company behind social networking-based casual games, such as the popular Words With Friends, FarmVille, and Mafia Wars. Zynga’s presence on social networking sites such as Facebook likely generates millions of dollars a year. The company has issued an anti-SOPA statement through the form of a Words With Friends screenshot on its official website.

Mojang is the independent game development company best known for its PC title, Minecraft. Epic Games and Bungie are the development studios behind popular Xbox titles Gears of War and Halo, respectively. All three gaming companies have leant support for the anti-SOPA movement. Epic Games and Bungie have issued statements regarding their positions against the bill, while Mojang blocked access to the Minecraft website in an imitation of SOPA censorship.

Reddit, a user-generated news organization claiming to be “The front page of the internet”, has announced that the internet SOPA blackouts led to at least 10 US senators withdrawing support for the bill. Gaming accessories design company Razer put a profanity laced image on their homepage, clearly shouting out their stance on the SOPA issue.

I could probably go on for another thousand words, but the point is that the internet community has been rather vocal about the SOPA bill. Already, several prominent United States senators have withdrawn their support for the bill. More shockingly, U.S. President Barack Obama has announced that he is against the SOPA. But what of the companies still supporting the bill?

At this point, as entire internet communities seem to be against SOPA, it would appear that supporting the bill could become a public relations nightmare. The battle against this bill is obviously about ethical and moral ideas for supporters of both sides. Thus far, the majority of the vocal groups and businesses fighting against the bill have had nothing but noble intentions. But as more organizations and corporations are drawn into the fray, an anti-SOPA stance just might become fashionable.

Maybe fashionable enough to promote a brand.