Could Google or Facebook Survive a 24-Hour Blackout?

No offense to Google, but that's a rather weak way for a company to proclaim that it does not support SOPA. While I also take issue with Twitter's CEO, Dick Costolo, who is against SOPA and the idea of a website blackout, it seems that Google is taking a rather soft approach to an issue that, if allowed to progress, could ultimately hurt its business. What would Google do if the U.S. government said it could no longer display copyrighted images and videos in its search results? How many billions of dollars would it have to pour into filtering mechanisms (software, additional personnel, etc.) to ensure that copyrighted material never comes up in a search? How many billions of dollars would it lose as consumers move to other search options? While SOPA would theoretically prevent other sites from offering the content that Google was barred from displaying, there are loopholes in every law. One way or other, someone would find a way to exploit them. On YouTube, creativity would be quashed. Right now, Google happily removes videos when a (seemingly valid) copyright claim is made against a user. Can you imagine what would happen if SOPA – or a similar piece of legislation – was passed? Instead of waiting for record labels and other entertainment companies to step up and complain, Google would have to police the site and eliminate any video that could be perceived as breaking the law. This means that the thousands of cover songs – which are performed by aspiring recording artists – would likely be removed. It also means that successful parodies of Star Wars, Pokemon and other notable brands may be eliminated just to avoid a conflict with SOPA. George Lucas – the man who created and owns Star Wars – has always been a huge supporter of fan films and parodies, but SOPA could still interfere with their creation. If Google.com loses its ability to provide open and endless search options, and if YouTube users can no longer publish their homemade videos, the company will slowly crumble. One by one, Google's biggest features would be taken away – and along with them, the company's profits would diminish. Google can't make $20+ billion from its ad business if no one is visiting the site. Earlier this month, Google and Facebook were expected to join the blackout. But as the proposed blackout day approached, very little was heard from either tech giant. As of this morning, Facebook's default login page has not changed. While I have previously argued that Google and Facebook couldn't afford to take their sites down for a day (the 24-hour damage is nothing compared to the long-term risks), the painful reality is that Google is taking an equally large risk by staying silent on the matter. Whereas sites like Destructoid are making a huge statement with a series of goofy images and a large “STOP SOPA” message in place of their daily content, Google's protest is rather generic. Believe it or not, the search engine giant put more effort into its April Fools gags. Oddly, of the sites that did choose to go dark (there are reportedly 7,000 of them, but only the biggest names – Wikipedia, Cheezburger, Reddit, etc. – are getting any attention), many did not begin their blackout until after midnight. In fact, Reddit did not go down until 8:00 a.m. EST. Speaking of Reddit, the site has made its way into an amusing song about the threat of SOPA and PIPA: As silly as it was, I couldn't help but laugh at the line, “Users could not edit / Ars Technica and Reddit.” Follow me @LouisBedigian