EA, Nintendo, Sony Quietly Withdraw SOPA Support 204
wbr1 writes "Electronista reports that Sony, Nintendo, and Electronic Arts have all pulled their support for SOPA, but have not issued any statements as to why. The house.gov list of SOPA supporters is here."
If it was quiet... (Score:5, Insightful)
If it was quiet, they still support it. They just don't want to lose as many customers.
Re:But The Really Didn't.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not Entirely Withdrawn (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, of course. They still support it, they just don't want to announce that they support it and all the bad press, gamer retaliatation and vigilante attacks (ie., anonymous) that that implies, so they hide behind an industry trade group.
Re:Not Entirely Withdrawn (Score:5, Insightful)
Exactly.
The GoDaddy clusterfuck just taught them to not be stupid enough to connect your company name to it directly.
Re:Concerned Women for America (CWA) (Score:4, Insightful)
Thou shalt not make copies of things (e.g. movies, music, fish, bread) without first paying.
Re:Concerned Women for America (CWA) (Score:3, Insightful)
This is about that most Christian of virtues, making sure that the rich don't have to earn their money.
Re:I get the media companies, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
You have a good point about the IBEW, electrical codes and standards. The code and standards publishing bodies guard their products jealously. And they do chase down people who violate their copyrights aggressively. Sometimes too aggressively, if one assumes 'fair use' and quotes too extensively from their publications.
The NFPA [nfpa.org], the publisher of various electrical, safety and fire codes also provides training and (at one time, maybe not anymore) offered a code interpretation service (which may have come dangerously close to providing engineering services without a license). As such, they are in direct competition with other training and engineering service providers. Armed with SOPA, they could pretty much shut down any competing services. Or at least drive them off the 'Net. The IEEE [ieee.org] holds a similar position in that many ordinances simply cite their standards in statutes or regulations and expect anyone having to comply with said regulations to cough up $$$ to obtain a copy.
Obligatory bad car analogy: Think of a world where traffic laws just referred to some AAA [aaa.com] driving handbook, available only to paying members.
I'm sure that there are many analogous examples in different professions where one quasi-official publisher could effectively control their industry given sufficient ammunition.
Re:Anonymous Threatened Sony (Score:2, Insightful)
(transcript here [playstationlifestyle.net] and a few more specifics here [playstationlifestyle.net])
Aggh. Why're people so in love with links that only read "here"? They're not quite informative.
But hey, happy new year. :)
Re:Anonymous Threatened Sony (Score:5, Insightful)
Short answer: If Sony had felt threatened by Anonymous, it would only have strengthened their resolve.
No, IMHO the reason these corporations have withdrawn their support may be twofold, one may just be because they are starting to realize that SOPA may very well backfire on them legally. With SOPA there is no real competition left, and in that environment, what you can do to your competitors, they can do to you just as well.
However the most recent event, which I think shaped their decision, is the customer reaction to GoDaddy's support for SOPA. That told them that customers are actually willing talking with their wallet, and when they do, it can hurt them.
Re:This may be the way out (Score:2, Insightful)
Setting it up as a problem in game theory, the tenet "candidate who spends the most money wins the election [opensecrets.org]" makes the outcome a foregone conclusion: elected government officials will be in the pocket of corporations, in all cases.
Another way to see this is that candidate who raised the most money also had the most number of supporters...
Re:This may be the way out (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Anonymous Threatened Sony (Score:5, Insightful)
SONY is only one player. I just got off the phone leaving voice mail for some others on the list. Call them. Write them. Let your voice be heard. Give examples. First I told them I understood that piracy of film and music is a problem. I then told them I could shut down Slashdot, Picasa, Photobucket, Makezine, and many anti scam websites, etc for posting photos and text that users shared but did not make. Sites I use to promote my work would be shut down if this passes. Make it clear that the piracy is a problem, but the proposed solution would shut down sites individuals use. We do not need the Internet to become just another TV or radio station for big media. The Internet would be of no use if that happens.
Slashdot could be shut down for most everything placed in quotes. This is WRONG.
Re:Anonymous Threatened Sony (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think Sony gives two left shits about Anons.
It's probably when Kotaku and the rest of the gaming news media caught on to who's supporting SOPA did they shit their pants.
Re:Anonymous Threatened Sony (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:MAD (Score:4, Insightful)
I wish it would pass for *ONE* reason. (Score:2, Insightful)
Kill fucking Zynga.
Re:Anonymous Threatened Sony (Score:4, Insightful)
There's also the other form where the links are spread over the words such as "There is many tech [engadget.com] web [anandtech.com] sites [tomshardware.com]". :)
Not a big deal, but people could give it just a little thought in general. It forces you to hover over all the links and makes the page harder to read if it's printed. A good rule of thumb could be that the same text should also work completely without the links around the words.
Why would Sony be afraid? (Score:2, Insightful)
I understand angst. I understand outrage. I understand wanting to "do something about it."
But Anonymous is a voice without a mission. They and the Occupy protesters expect the world to change policy on a dime just because they've suddenly discovered that the world sucks and the greedy get away with it.
They can both take a spin. The movement to fight the US DEA's dogmatic persecution of cannabis users and patients began before I was born. It's been a multi-generational battle, with each generation teaching the next about what tactics worked, and what tactics didn't Instead of crying that "no one listens to me", the cannabis activists kept learning and adapting as the laws and rules of society changed, but they never gave up on the core mission.
The battle isn't over by any means -- the DEA still insists there is no "medical use" for cannabis despite literally millions of patients around the world testifying to it's usefulness and over a dozen states approving medical cannabis programs.
If a change of policy that is backed by such sound economic, scientific, social, and moral benefits cannot be won in less time, what makes Anonymous and Occupy think they're going to change the world by complaining?!?!?!
Re:Why would Sony be afraid? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Why would Sony be afraid? (Score:4, Insightful)
I'd fight for your right to protest the gathering of "dirty squatters," and the founding principles of our country expect you to do the same for them.