The PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) is the evil step-sister of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the much-criticized Internet blacklist bill introduced in the House last month. They’ve got a lot in common — both bills would allow the government and private rightsholders to censor the Internet for Americans, and both bills have faced strong opposition from regular citizens, business leaders, and public interest groups.

In one way, though, PIPA is much worse: while SOPA is still in the House committee stage and has been the target of extraordinary public opposition, PIPA is already out of committee and poised for consideration of the full Senate. That means PIPA is a few dangerous steps further along in the process of becoming law. And with only a few weeks to go in this legislative session, the Senate may try to rush the bill through before the public has a chance to respond.

We're not going to let that happen. Despite their efforts to push this through under the radar, folks who care about the Internet and innovation are tracking this bill and getting the word out. You can help, in an old-school and very effective way: Pick up the phone.

Right now, the best response to this threat is to let your Senator hear your voice, explaining why you as a constituent think PIPA is such a bad idea. That’s why we’ve joined with many other public interest groups, including Public Knowledge, Fight for the Future, Demand Progress and others, in asking the public to call in to the Senate.

Even if you’ve already used our action alert (and thank you), please take a few minutes now and get on the phone with your Senator’s office. Let them know that Internet censorship is unacceptable.

Here are some talking points for you to mention during the phone call:

Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a constituent of the Senator. I think S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act, is a bad idea, and I hope the Senator will stand against it. PROTECT IP is overbroad, and could be used as a tool for online censorship. Further, it creates a bad precedent internationally for fragmenting the Internet. Thank you for your consideration, and for acting against this dangerous bill.

Find your state in the list below to get the phone numbers for your Senators. If your Senator has already spoken out against PIPA, his or her name will be in bold text. Please call to thank them for their position!

Big content is not going to give up on the idea that the best way to protect its slow-moving business model is to ensure that it gets to dictate the pace of innovation. Let’s send a signal that the next generation of creators and innovators will not let big content decide the future of the Internet.

Help us spread the word!

Once you’ve called your Senators, there are still more steps you can take to fight this disastrous bill. Tell your friends, in person, on Facebook, or on Twitter, and ask them to call their Senators. You can join over 100,000 Americans who have signed a Demand Progress petition — Senator Ron Wyden has promised to read from the list if he needs to filibuster the bill. And if you haven’t yet used our action alert, act now to e-mail your legislators with your opposition.