About that black bar…

If you’re reading this post on our website, you might have noticed the black bar covering our logo. It’s there as an [expression of solidarity](http://americancensorship.org/) with those opposing the [Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)](http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3261/show).

SOPA is designed to protect the interests of intellectual property rightsholders more vigorously. Whether or not that’s a wise or necessary course of action isn’t for Sunlight to say–that’s not our mission. But we can say that this bill poses a serious threat to the freedom of online speech. And that’s a problem–for an organization that relies on the internet as much as we do, it’s a big problem.

It’s simply not acceptable for the government to grant itself the power to silence individuals and organizations without appropriate due process. Making this possible would be a mistake under any circumstances; that this extreme threat to free speech is being considered simply to protect an industry’s bottom line is outrageous–as is the money that that industry has been spending on the politicians who are trying to pass SOPA into law.