Good news, everyone! SOPA just lost one of its biggest supporters!
The Business Software Alliance, one of the bill's biggest supporters, has now decided that the bill is too broad and too easy to abuse.
"Valid and important questions have been raised about the bill. It is intended to get at the worst of the worst offenders. As it now stands, however, it could sweep in more than just truly egregious actors," BSA president and CEO Robert Holleyman wrote on the BSA blog.
Indeed. This bill would kill innovation because websites would constantly be in fear of anyone who files a copyright claim against them. It won't stop the pirates - they'll just find a way around it - but it will punish everyone else.
"Due process, free speech, and privacy are rights that cannot be compromised. And the security of networks and communications is indispensable to a thriving Internet economy. Some observers have raised reasonable questions about whether certain SOPA provisions might have unintended consequences in these areas," Holleyman wrote.
"Fighting piracy" does not give a man the right to censor any site he doesn't like. And as I wrote before, SOPA definitely will have unintended consequences. Too bad the assholes who wrote this bill didn't bother to think them through, or if they did think them through, they probably didn't care.
Such a dramatic turnaround seems to be part of a growing realization that copyright infringement legislation is going too far. At the weekend, European Union Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said,"Citizens increasingly hear the word copyright and hate what is behind it. Many see the current system as a tool to punish and withhold, not a tool to recognize and reward."
Such a sad site, isn't it? Copyright was originally intended to protect artists from plagiarism. Nowadays, it's used by greedy corporations to protect their obscene profits.
"It is simplistic to assume that because some intellectual property protection is good, that such protection should therefore be absolute in all circumstances. Let's ask ourselves, is the current copyright system the right and only tool to achieve our objectives? Not really, I'm afraid. We need to keep on fighting against piracy, but legal enforceability is becoming increasingly difficult," she said.
Not only is it difficult, it's also extremely expensive. Do you really think we can afford that in this economy?
Meanwhile last Friday the European Parliament added its voice to those calling for SOPA to be abandoned. And more than 60 civil and human rights organizations wrote a letter to Congress calling for the rejection of SOPA. The letter argues that the act "is as unacceptable to the international community as it would be if a foreign country were to impose similar measures on the United States."
The Business Software Alliance represents IT companies including Microsoft, SAP, IBM, Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
Let's keep up the pressure, people. We will let congress know that the American people will not stand for terrible, draconian legislation such as this.
http://americancensorship.org/