Online information seekers will have to search for alternate sources today as Wikipedia and other popular websites have shut down easy access to their content to protest U.S. antipiracy proposals.

These internet companies are concerned that the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act in the Senate, if passed, could be used to strip them and their users of their rights to legally share content.

Wikipedia made perhaps the most daring move in protest, staging a 24-hour blackout of its English-language articles, while Reddit.com, a social news service, shut down for 12 hours.

Other sites showed their solidarity without completely blocking access to information. Google blacked out its home page logo and directed users to a page where they could sign a petition against the bills, while Craigslist chose change its local home pages to black screens that directed buyers, sellers, and browsers to an anti-legislation page. A link to Craigslist's main site would appear after 10 seconds).

For those who can't make it without Wikipedia for one day, there are several detours: changing browser settings to disable JavaScript, using the mobile phone version of the site, or dusting off that old encyclopedia set-if you can remember where you put it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.