The founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, launched a petition in support of Richard O'Dwyer, the British student who is at risk of being extradited to the United States to be charged of copyrigh violation, risking a penalty that goes to 10 years in prison.
O'Dwyer is 22 and studying multimedia at the University of Sheffield, founded in December 2007 the site TVShack.net, which was basically a set of links to see movies and television shows online. Your site had a warning right on the homepage, to say that the content in question was located elsewhere and not be blamed for it, adding that it was governed by the laws of Sweden, where he was staying.
In 2010 The O'Dwyer was arrested, and since then faces a legal battle. The UK decided not to accuse, but the United States moved forward with the process and asked for his extradition. In January this year it was adopted by a British court, and approved by the Secretary of State for Interior, Theresa May.
To Jimmy Wales, The O'Dwyer became the face of a broader fight against the legislation that is being prepared in the United States to increase the control and intervention on 'copyrights' and online piracy. There are two laws, known as SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act), and their critics say they may call into question internet core sites like Google or Wikipedia.
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