Wikipedia founder opposes extradition to US of Richard O’Dwyer

Wikipedia's founder Jimmy Wales has started a petition seeking to stop the extradition of a British student to the US on copyright infringement charges, the BBC reported.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency argues that 24-year-old Richard O'Dwyer's TVShack.net website hosted links to pirated films and TV programs and earned more than $230,000 in advertising before the US seized the domain name in June 2010, the BBC wrote.

Wales wrote "the internet as a whole must not tolerate censorship in response to mere allegations of copyright infringement. As citizens we must stand up for our rights online."

According to the Guardian, O'Dwyer could face up to 10 years in prison.

UK Home Secretary Theresa May approved O'Dwyer's extradition to the US after a January court ruling. O'Dwyer appeal, which was due to take place in July, has been delayed, the BBC reported.

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Earlier this year, Wikipedia joined a global protest against proposed US anti-piracy laws by taking the site offline. Wales called O'Dwyer the "human face" of the battle between the content industry and the interests of the general public.