More SOPA Blues

Folks, I have a feeling SOPA may be on its last legs. The number of SOPA opponents are rising faster than my cupcakes in the stove. From companies to Congressmen, SOPA opponents are coming out in numbers. Some even threatening to black themselves out on January 18th. Groups include the following(With GamePolitics links)

The Electronic Consumer Agency
Congressman Paul Ryan(R)
Consumer Electronics Association
Red 5 Studios(Also the Makers of Minecraft)
Video Game Voters Network
Reddit
Good Old Games
Major League Gaming
Creator of Halo: Bungie
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor(R)

Those are a small portion of the opponents of SOPA. However, the most recent opponent of SOPA came out of the woodwork and has identified himself by none other than....our own President of the USA: Barack Obama

"Thanks for taking the time to sign this petition. Both your words and actions illustrate the importance of maintaining an open and democratic Internet.

Right now, Congress is debating a few pieces of legislation concerning the very real issue of online piracy, including the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the PROTECT IP Act, and the Online Protection and Digital ENforcement Act (OPEN). We want to take this opportunity to tell you what the Administration will support—and what we will not support. Any effective legislation should reflect a wide range of stakeholders, including everyone from content creators to the engineers that build and maintain the infrastructure of the Internet.

While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet."

Smart words considering that the NDAA passed. Ahh yes NDAA, where you can be locked up indefinitely without a court if you are a threat to America.

However, it seems the President's own words may have delayed and defanged SOPA.

A vote on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has been delayed indefinitely, but the fight against Internet censorship continues: Reddit.com will go forward with its site-wide blackout on Wednesday, January 18, to protest the Senate’s Protect IP Act (PIPA), Digital Trends has confirmed. PIPA, a similar bill to SOPA, is scheduled to go up for a vote before the Senate on January 24.

“Protect IP Bill is still scheduled for a vote. Senator Reid said on Sunday that they’re still going forward with it, so [the Reddit blackout is still on],” said Erik Martin, Reddit’s general manager, in a phone interview with Digital Trends on Monday morning.

While SOPA has received the brunt of the backlash, PIPA contains similar provisions, which critics say could usher in an unprecedented level of government-enforced censorship online, harm the underlying infrastructure of the Internet, and hamper online innovation by stifling investment in Internet startups due to a more risky investment environment.

In the face of constituent outrage, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), co-author of PIPA, said in a statement on Thursday that he would be willing to remove the portion of the bill that would empower Internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to foreign websites that have been accused to distributing copyrighted material illegally. Despite the possible removal of this highly contentious provision, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Trevor Timm wrote on the EFF’s website today that “the fight is still far from over,” due to a number of other potentially “damaging” parts of the bill. These include the “vigilante” provision, which allows ISPs to block sites voluntarily, without recourse; and the anti-circumvention provision, which seeks to punish sites that give users information for how to access blocked sites.

Not only will we not see a vote on SOPA till the 24th, but a portion of the bill that allows ISPs to block access to foreign websites was removed. As it stands, SOPA is on Life Support. Can SOPA survive, or will companies and politicans pull the cord? I now leave you with one of the most vocal supporters of SOPA: Rupert "News Corps" Murdoch, who houses Fox News hosts like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and once housed Glenn Beck.

Murdoch – whose News Corporation includes the Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox, which is among the companies calling for a legislative clampdown against piracy of films, music and other copyrighted material – launched a tirade against the Obama administration for its criticism of Sopa.

"So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery," he wrote in a series of five tweets, accusing Google of hosting pirated material and selling advertising against it.

The White House statement was not a simple denunciation of Sopa and Pipa. It also makes clear that the administration is in favour of new legislation to combat online piracy, though the authors say it must be narrowly targeted. "Online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response," they say.

Works Cited
Game Politics(White House Questions SOPA PIPA)
Digital Trends
The Guardian