Mark Zuckerberg posts first tweet since 2009

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has posted his first tweet since 2009, crossing to the other side to encourage followers to protest the SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy bills.

Using the handle @finkd (verified by Mashable), Zuckerberg posted, "Tell your congressmen you want them to be pro-internet," followed by a link to his short statement on Facebook.

Back on his home turf, he re-affirms Facebook's opposition to the bills, and any laws that will 'hurt the internet'.

"The world today needs political leaders who are pro-internet," Zuckerberg says.

"We have been working with many of these folks for months on better alternatives to these current proposals. I encourage you to learn more about these issues and tell your congressmen that you want them to be pro-internet.

Critics have suggested Zuckerberg should have temporarily blacked out Facebook in protest, joining the likes of Reddit, the Cheezburger network, and most prominently, Wikipedia.

Realistically, though, that would have been nigh on impossible to do. Wikipedia's sites are separated by language, allowing programmers to at least limit the blackout to pages in English. A blackout of Facebook would affect all 800 million users, even though only around 150 million are based in America.