We’ve written much on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) here at TechFruit and how it would be detrimental to consumers everywhere and could break parts of the actual internet infrastructure whilst turning the US into a country of censorship for the highest bidder. It’s an important bill to watch for everyone, not just Americans, and it is all of us that can show our disappointment and anger at their stance by boycotting them.
The US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has a released a list of companies and organisations that have supported the bill, and that means we now have places to vent our collective frustration. If you are a current member of these organisations or give custom to these business – then now is the time to make your voice heard by taking your business elsewhere and telling them why you’re doing so.
Ben Huh of Cheezburger (the owner of I Can Has Cheesburger and FAIL Blog fame) has publicly stated that he’ll move the company’s 1000 domains away from Godaddy if they continue to support this bill and is leading the way. Godaddy may be used to getting a fair bit of heat due to their publicity stunt CEO’s marketing tricks, but if big customers start taking their business elsewhere – and blacklisted by technology companies – then hitting them in the pocket might just work.
https://twitter.com/#!/benhuh/status/149965881479397376
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Most of the supporting groups are from the copyright industries (music, film, TV) – and you can certainly show your distaste for SOPA by avoiding their products over the next few weeks, but there are others in there for which the bill for which your voice may be more likely to be heard. Go Daddy are standing alone as a technology/internet company supporting the bill, however, with many domains owned by technology companies and those interested in it and so they will likely see the strongest push back from customers on the issue. There’s already a thread on Reddit with hundreds of users having already made the switch.
Are you a GoDaddy customer? Move to Namecheap (it is who we use for TechFruit – and they’re great!). At the moment you get a free .org with each .com you register or you can use the coupon code “XMASJOY” for 10% off – bonus! They have also made a public stance *against* SOPA.
You’ve got to wonder what some of these companies have to gain by supporting this bill though. L’Oreal? Revlon? Mastercard? Visa? Or the organisations – why are The United States Conference of Mayors, the National Troopers Coalition, the National Center for Victims of Crime, Congressional Fire Services Institute, and Concerned Women for America supporting this?