Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter considering ?nuclear option? to protest SOPA
By Joel Hruska on January 3, 2012 at 12:00 pm
The battle against SOPA reached fever pitch just before Christmas when a Reddit-led boycott of Go Daddy over the domain registrar?s support for the controversial legislation led to some 37,000 domains leaving the company for greener, freedom-loving pastures. Go Daddy, meanwhile, is now buried in complaints that it?s improperly blocking domain transfer requests to rival Namecheap.
With debate over SOPA?s future tabled until Congress reconvenes, you might think the issue would have entered a similar lull, but that?s not happened. According to Markham Erickson, head of the NetCoalition trade association, there?s been talk of a so-called ?nuclear option,? in which the likes of Google, Amazon, eBay, and Yahoo! would go simultaneously dark to protest the legislation to highlight the fundamental danger the legislation poses to the function of the internet.
There?s been no formal decision on the matter, and the companies in question obviously risk consumer anger and backlash over any suspension of services. There is, however, safety in numbers ? and a few simple sentences identifying why the blackout is in place will ensure that the majority of the rage flows in the proper direction.
It?s a trump card that the likes of the MPAA and RIAA have no way of matching. There?s solid technical data behind the tech industry?s claims that implementing SOPA could damage the function of the internet, and plenty of evidence (some of it just weeks old) that copyright holders will abuse existing judicial processes to eliminate content they don?t like. The MPAA and RIAA are willing to talk about jobs lost to piracy in the abstract, but won?t (and can?t) promise that passing SOPA will allow them to hire thousands of Americans or create jobs in a statement they?d be held accountable for fulfilling.
There?s no information yet on when the blackout would occur, but the most likely date right now would be January 23. The Senate is scheduled to debate SOPA on January 24. Speaking in December, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid highlighted the importance of passing the legislation. ?This is a bipartisan piece of legislation which is extremely important,? Reid said Saturday. ?I repeat, it is bipartisan. I hope we can have a productive couple of days, pass this bill, and move on to other matters.?
http://www.extremetech.com/computin...er-considering-nuclear-option-to-protest-sopa
I'm going to point this out to everyone as it is important AND can affect you. If tech companies decide to protest, the Internet may not be working properly for you on January 23. Google, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube: All these sites may be down on that day.
Please look into what SOPA means and what it represents. If it's something that you feel strongly for or against, please notify your representative or senator. One of the more extreme examples about what SOPA could do to us gamers: Game reviews and walkthroughs showing gameplay would not be allowed under SOPA due to how broadly and loosely the law is written. I.E. No video game streaming (like Terraria last night) allowed without prior consent from companies that created the game. I keep looking into the law, and where I can't 100% say that those examples are true, I really do not see anything to make them false either, which is worrying.
Please try to keep this discussion thread civil as this is a pretty explosive topic. Thanks in advance.
By Joel Hruska on January 3, 2012 at 12:00 pm
The battle against SOPA reached fever pitch just before Christmas when a Reddit-led boycott of Go Daddy over the domain registrar?s support for the controversial legislation led to some 37,000 domains leaving the company for greener, freedom-loving pastures. Go Daddy, meanwhile, is now buried in complaints that it?s improperly blocking domain transfer requests to rival Namecheap.
With debate over SOPA?s future tabled until Congress reconvenes, you might think the issue would have entered a similar lull, but that?s not happened. According to Markham Erickson, head of the NetCoalition trade association, there?s been talk of a so-called ?nuclear option,? in which the likes of Google, Amazon, eBay, and Yahoo! would go simultaneously dark to protest the legislation to highlight the fundamental danger the legislation poses to the function of the internet.
There?s been no formal decision on the matter, and the companies in question obviously risk consumer anger and backlash over any suspension of services. There is, however, safety in numbers ? and a few simple sentences identifying why the blackout is in place will ensure that the majority of the rage flows in the proper direction.
It?s a trump card that the likes of the MPAA and RIAA have no way of matching. There?s solid technical data behind the tech industry?s claims that implementing SOPA could damage the function of the internet, and plenty of evidence (some of it just weeks old) that copyright holders will abuse existing judicial processes to eliminate content they don?t like. The MPAA and RIAA are willing to talk about jobs lost to piracy in the abstract, but won?t (and can?t) promise that passing SOPA will allow them to hire thousands of Americans or create jobs in a statement they?d be held accountable for fulfilling.
There?s no information yet on when the blackout would occur, but the most likely date right now would be January 23. The Senate is scheduled to debate SOPA on January 24. Speaking in December, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid highlighted the importance of passing the legislation. ?This is a bipartisan piece of legislation which is extremely important,? Reid said Saturday. ?I repeat, it is bipartisan. I hope we can have a productive couple of days, pass this bill, and move on to other matters.?
http://www.extremetech.com/computin...er-considering-nuclear-option-to-protest-sopa
I'm going to point this out to everyone as it is important AND can affect you. If tech companies decide to protest, the Internet may not be working properly for you on January 23. Google, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube: All these sites may be down on that day.
Please look into what SOPA means and what it represents. If it's something that you feel strongly for or against, please notify your representative or senator. One of the more extreme examples about what SOPA could do to us gamers: Game reviews and walkthroughs showing gameplay would not be allowed under SOPA due to how broadly and loosely the law is written. I.E. No video game streaming (like Terraria last night) allowed without prior consent from companies that created the game. I keep looking into the law, and where I can't 100% say that those examples are true, I really do not see anything to make them false either, which is worrying.
Please try to keep this discussion thread civil as this is a pretty explosive topic. Thanks in advance.
