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Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia who first announced the move on his Twitter account Monday, said the bills are a threat to the free, open and secure
Web. "The whole thing is just a poorly designed mess," Wales said in an email to The Associated Press. Wikipedia is also requesting that readers contact members of Congress about the bill during the blackout. "I am personally asking everyone who cares about freedom and openness on the Internet to contact their Senators and Representative," Wales said. "One of the things we have learned recently during the Arab spring events is that the Internet is a powerfully effective tool for the public to organize and have their voices heard." Wikipedia will shut down access from midnight Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday night until midnight Wednesday. This is the first time Wikipedia's English version has gone dark. Its Italian site came down once briefly in protest to an Internet censorship bill put forward by the Berlusconi government; the bill did not advance. "Wikipedia is about being open," said Jay Walsh, spokesman for the Wikimedia foundation. "We are not about shutting down and protesting. It's not a muscle that is normally flexed."
[Associated
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