Google to join protests over SOPA bill

Google says it will join the online protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act currently being debated by the U.S. Congress. The search giant said it would post a link on the company's home page Wednesday to notify users of the company's opposition to SOPA, CNET News reported. Google said it will join Wikipedia, Reddit and other influential tech firms in staging online protests of varying kinds against SOPA and a similar Senate bill, the Protect IP Act (PIPA). "Like many businesses, entrepreneurs and web users, we oppose these bills because there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the Internet," a Google spokeswoman said. "So tomorrow we will be joining many other tech companies to highlight this issue on our United States home page." Entertainment and media interests are backing both acts, but critics say they would stifle free speech on the Internet. One site not joining in the online protests is social media giant Twitter, pcmag.com reported. Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said the micro-blogging site would not be participating. "That's just silly. Closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish," Costolo tweeted when asked by journalists if the company would be willing to shut down in protest, as Wikipedia has said it would do Wednesday. However, "Not shutting down a service doesn't equal not taking the proper stance on an issue," he said. "We've been very clear about our stance."