SOPA Is it a good thing?

[Moby2000]

Hi All !
I've been reading a lot latley about new legislation in America SOPA (stop online piracy act) that is being discussed at length in most forums that i use.
I was just wondering what WHB thought about this new law that is going through the American legal system at the moment.
From what i have been reading this will have a detromental impact on the web as we know it and american hosting providers in particular. Also other web industries based on american soil.
From what i am reading America will isolate it'self and loose a lot of the present market share of webhosting it provides due to fear of people being hauled before the courts or websites taken down due to infringment of American Law if this bill goes through?

[Matt R.]

Hi,

We're firmly against SOPA, infact we'll be putting a page up announcing our stance sometime next week. SOPA favors a "carpet bombing" approach to piracy which will catch out innocent bystanders and web hosts alike. DMCA is okay, although it can get expensive when lawsuits are filed (and have been) but we are firmly against SOPA.


Matt

[Tony]

Glad to hear that. And not a "waffle" statement like Godaddy.

[MyWebs]

I'm also glad to hear that WHB has taken a clear stand against SOPA. While I don't know much about it yet I'm thinking it must be pretty bad considering the very negative response it has caused online.

[Matt R.]

You can read more about it at SaveHosting.org. We were a founder signature on this and our intention is to support it more in 2012. We will make consider effort to promote it to our own customers, our social media channels as well as making financial contributions to fight this if necessary.

SOPA and PIPA could be very damaging to us all.

[Moby2000]

I agree with you Matt
If this Legislation goes through it will have a detromental effect on how the web as we know it will survive. America is a vital part of the web and always has been, but i fear this law will have a devastating effect on where people host and leave America somewhat isolated. We will also see a dramatic impact on the likes of facebook and Youtube because of this law. Even the mighty Google would have to change the way it displays results to people using it for searching.
This is a bad law for american business altogether.

[Matt R.]

I think the anti-SOPA movement is gaining momentum. It's good for us, it's good for customers. Let's see what 2012 brings.

(Hopefully it will bring more relevant / good discussion in our quiet forums like this!)

[Tony]

It actually moved me to email my representative (Shelly Capito R-WV). I never got a response so maybe I should write again. Or even call. But I guess I better wait until she actually gets it in front of her. If she ever does - they're liable to cram this through without a lot of debate.

And I fear we're just pushing it down the road anyway. After the politicians saw how important the internet was during the "Arab Spring", they won't rest until they have their kill switches all over it. Of course, in the name of "fighting terrorism" and "for the children". Or more bizarrely, to "protect jobs".

[Moby2000]

Good point Tony
I was actually wondering why the government gave this to the Department of Homeland Security???
Personally i think Governments love to keep people a little on the paranoid side where policy is concerned. It makes the population a little more compliant.
Big business has realised the power of the web and like governments want to take control of it, i truly believe the web still belongs to the people and i for one hope it stays that way.
Although i am from England and probably have no real influence in this matter am behind this anti-sopa campaign because i believe in the freedom of the web and social sharing.

[Tony]

Hey. Guess what was in the snail mail this morning? My congressperson finally acknowledged my email, and promised to take my input into consideration if it ever comes to a vote.

Ah well, probably the best I could expect. At least I know someone got it!

[Matt R.]

Great news Tony Hopefully the politicians will see sense.

[Moby2000]

I just thought i'd post this link as it has been reported on the bbc here in England.
BBC News - GoDaddy faces boycott over SOPA anti-piracy law support
Some providers just don't know when to keep thier mouth shut! lol

[Tony]

That's an old article - if we can call two days old. But right now the numbers show more people coming on to Godaddy than leaving them. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/12/godaddy-wins-and-loses-move-your-domain-day-over-sopa.ars

GoDaddy gained more domains than it lost on Move Your Domain Day, a reaction to the company's former support for the Stop Online Piracy Act. According to

DailyChanges (via TechDirt), the combined domain transfers in and new registrations outstripped transfers out by a large margin

[Moby2000]

Still it's a good indication that the people still have a voice and can influence changes don't you think Tony?

[Matt R.]

We now have a NO SOPA badge on our home page and a blog post that backs up our stance

[Moby2000]

That's great news Matt
Will you be putting the badge on the UK site aslo?
I know this is an American law that is being debated but i think we all here in the Uk and other countries
should also get involved because it will effect the way the web as we know it exists.

[Tony]

Yes, especially with the US throwing it's weight around.

US Threatened To Blacklist Spain For Not Implementing Site Blocking Law

[Matt R.]

When the UK site is launched with the new design, yes we will. We've already had the Digital Economy Act in the UK and BT have been quite successful in getting the govt to tone it down.

[Moby2000]

The DEA is held up in brussels waiting for approval so it seems that they arn't happy with waiting so long and are targeting the social networks and search engines to de-list sites that may have ilegal content.
Am i being paranoid here? Or does this seem like the tip of the iceberg for governments and search engines to control what we are allowed to have access to on the web.
Another point i'd like to make is do you think this would open the gates for multiple law suits against isp's and search engines for blocking sites that didn't actually contain illegal copyright content. I really think this is a dangerous road they are taking that the only winners will be the solicitors and lawyers with all the law suits flying around.

[Moby2000]

We've got em on the backfoot the SOPA supporters are heading for the hills !! lol

It's good to see they have temporarily put SOPA on hold for now.