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Wikipedia in 24-hour blackout protest

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17 January 2012 Last updated at 23:31 ET Help

Wikipedia has taken its English-language site offline as part of protests against proposed anti-piracy laws in the US.

The user-generated news site Reddit and the blog Boing Boing are also taking part in the "blackout".

Sites taking part in the shutdown went offline for 24 hours shortly after midnight Eastern Standard Time (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

Wikipedia, which attracts millions of hits every day, is opposed to the US Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa) being debated by Congress.

Emily Buchanan reports.

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