Redditors, still flush with power after their victory against GoDaddy last month, have some new boycott targets—every company that supports the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
Their all-purpose weapon in the fight is a new android app, created by redditor erenion and released to the site’s r/technology section late Saturday. Called “Boycott SOPA,” the application will tell you if a SOPA-supporting company created the product you plan on purchasing. All you need to do is scan the item’s barcode.
In total, more than 800 companies make this list, from ABC to Visa to Sony. (Did the creators miss any? If so, they want you to contact them here).
The app is currently available only for Android phones, but erenion said that an iOS version should be available soon. It’s not like they had months to make the app.
“We made this in less than 24 hours,” erenion wrote on Reddit. That’s because SOPA is “coming so fast,” the redditor wrote, that “it had to be done fast.”
SOPA is a much reviled piece of legislation on the social news site and in the in technology world. The bill would give the government unprecedented powers over the Web, including down websites allegedly involved in illegal file-sharing. Opponents argue that SOPA could effectively kill the Internet.
The U.S. House of Representatives resumes debate on the bill when Congress returns from winter recess this month.
Image by Bill S
