On Wednesday 18 January, 2012, the internet engaged in one of the largest anti-censorship campaigns in digital history. The aim was to combat two bills that are currently before the US Congress: the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). If you were to go on their names alone, you might think that the two bills are a good idea, but according to most of the web, you would be wrong.

Protestors, including Google, Facebook, Flickr and Wikipedia, say that the bills would be akin to censorship, would grant the US government untold power and could mean the death of websites that have been mistakenly accused of violating vague and ambiguous laws.