We are against piracy, but the way the bill is written now is far too broad and would stifle innovation and freedom of speech across the internet. As far as we can see, no competent technical expertise was consulted when writing the bill, and because of that, if passed into law, it will be very likely used in broad and over-reaching ways. It is easy to pass laws restricting freedom, but nigh-impossible to repeal them later.
The organizations and corporations opposing SOPA and PROTECT IP acts include ACLU, Electronic Frontier Foundation, American Library Association, Microsoft, Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, PayPal, Mozilla and many others. These are the companies and organizations responsible for the biggest proportion of economic growth even during these troubled times, and they are also ones that are deeply familiar with the structure of the Internet. They do not make money on piracy, they suffer from it quite as much as media companies, but they realize that the proposed legislation is technically infeasible without destroying the very foundation upon which the billion-dollar internet industry has been built in the recent years.
The major supporters of the bill are the old media companies - the same companies who tried to legislate away VCR’s and DVD players, and which continue hiding their heads in the sand and trying to legislate away progress, not unlike stage coach companies trying to outlaw the automobile. If this bill is to pass, other countries will undoubtedly not hesitate to invite our startup founders into a climate where their innovation will be appreciated and nurtured.
