Despite the hint of a presidential veto, Wikipedia said that the English site's administrators had decided to stage its first ever public protest because the bills "would be devastating to the free and open web".

While it recommended that the British should not enjoy even the hint of a veto in any form of consultative machinery, it did not think that Britain should be treated as a satellite.

Veto hint It is an unprecedented protest, says the BBC's Steve Kingstone in Washington.