ZeitNews will join Wikipedia and many other websites like Reddit and Boing Boing in a global internet protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the U.S. Senate.

This new law gives the government and corporations, like Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp, the ability to censor the net, in the name of protecting "creativity". It would let the government or corporations censor entire sites - they just have to convince a judge that the site is "dedicated to copyright infringement."

This bill will not only disrupt the internet, stifle innovation and shut out diverse voices, but will also cost $47 million a year to the American taxpayer.

At 17:00 UTC/GMT on Wednesday, January 18 a 24-hour black-out of ZeitNews will begin in order to illustrate the effect SOPA and PIPA might one day have on any website.

To learn more about the proposed bills check out the infographic below and the video at the end of this article. If you are from the USA, check out what protests are planned in your state at AmericanCensorship.org or if you plan to blackout your own blog or website join the strike at SOPAStrike.com