sopacountdown Open the counter

SOPA Countdown

A live counter of the time since the January 18, 2012 internet blackout — the protest that stopped SOPA and PIPA.

  • Free
  • No signup
  • Works offline
  • Instant

More on sopacountdown

Countdown Timer Timer Set your own countdown timer with an alarm. New Year Countdown New Year A live countdown to the next New Year.

sopacountdown.com remembers the January 18, 2012 internet blackout — the protest that stopped SOPA and PIPA — with a live counter of the time since. It also has a general countdown timer and a New Year countdown. Free, in your browser.

Note for the record: SOPA never passed. The blackout is widely credited with defeating it.

Why it still matters

The SOPA/PIPA blackout is a defining moment in internet history — a rare case of the online public halting major legislation. Our guides cover what the bills proposed, how the protest was organised, and the legacy it left for digital-rights activism.

From our guides

Browse all articles →
Countdown timers History of the New Year Ball Drop and Time Balls From 1833 time balls for ships to the 1907 New Year's Eve ball drop, discover the history behind the countdown tradition. 4 min read Countdown timers Who Celebrates New Year First and Last? The Midnight Relay Learn which country celebrates new year first and how the 26-hour midnight relay spans the globe from Kiribati to Baker Island. 3 min read Internet activism From SOPA to Net Neutrality: How the Protest Playbook Spread The 2012 SOPA blackout created a protest playbook that net neutrality campaigns used for years. This article traces that specific lineage. 4 min read SOPA & PIPA explained SOPA vs the DMCA: Notice-and-Takedown Compared SOPA vs DMCA: compare SOPA's domain blocking approach to the existing notice and takedown system under Section 512. 4 min read Digital rights history Article 13 and the EU Copyright Directive: SOPA's European Echo The 2019 EU Copyright Directive's Article 13 (renamed Article 17) brought SOPA-style fears of upload filters to Europe, but unlike SOPA, it passed. 3 min read Digital rights history What Was ACTA? The Trade Deal Europe Rejected in 2012 ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, was rejected by the European Parliament in 2012 after mass protests across Europe. 4 min read SOPA & PIPA explained What SOPA Would Have Done to the Internet A factual look at what SOPA would have done to the internet: DNS blocking, search delisting, payment and ad cutoffs, and the security and free-speech risks critics warned about. 6 min read SOPA & PIPA explained What Was PIPA? The PROTECT IP Act Explained A clear explainer on the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA): the Senate anti-piracy bill of 2011, what it proposed, how it differed from SOPA, and why it was ultimately shelved. 6 min read

Frequently asked questions

Did SOPA actually pass?
No — it was shelved days after the January 18, 2012 blackout and never became law. The counter marks the time since that protest.
Is sopacountdown.com free?
Yes — free, no signup, no download.
Can I make my own countdown?
Yes — use the countdown timer for a custom duration, or watch the New Year countdown.