@RvW, I think what Vapor was saying is that it doesn't affect non-US sites for people accessing the internet from other countries, as far as I understand it. For example, most people living in China use Chinese sites to illegally watch and download movies. I don't think the US government could do anything about these sites, besides asking the Chinese government to shut them down themselves, something I don't really see happening. Obviously, I was concerned about the SOPA/PIPA bills, but they don't have too big an impact on my day-to-day life. Unless, of course, the US government goes completely crazy and shuts down mundane humor sites and blogs.

Late to party, but:

@VaporX:
|> Wikipedia could of easily blacked their site out for everyone, but it wouldn't of had as big as an impact.

No no no.

First, different language Wikipedias are in fact mostly separate entities. They are connected, but it's not one big monolithic "Wikipedia". Every language version has a bit different rules, different customs and different user base.

Second, it's not that "Wikipedia blacked out its site". This was the decision of the community of the English Wikipedia (ie., editors). Wikipedias (all of them) are governed by the Wikimedia Foundation (ie., these guys who carry out these foundraising campaigns and then pay for the servers), which actually couldn't decide on something like that - it's a non-profit organization, and it's own statute prohibits them from any political involvement. As things happened, all they did was not to interfere.

And third, Wikipedia is not a political lobbying machine. There were recently two blackouts - one by Italian Wikipedia, one by English Wikipedia - but they were both directly concerned with national laws (one Italian, one American) which could directly interfere with the operation of respective language versions.

It would effect non US sites in that google and other search engines that communicate links to non US sites the US government deems illegal could be prosecuted under these proposals.