Apple to Stop Supporting SOPA; Also Microsoft, Intel, Adobe

[Anthony Bouchard]

Apple had originally sided with SOPA in the hopes to stop software piracy.

Apple, being a software giant like Adobe, Intel, Microsoft, and Sony, had originally thought that the moral idea behind SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) sounded like a good idea. Now, all four of those companies are backing away from it. Why? Because they took a closer look at the bill and saw what it really gave the government the power to do. If you're unfamiliar with SOPA, you can read my rendition of it here. This rendition is completely from my own mind with some quotes from other sources. It is opinionated, but it also holds some realistic facts. Feel free to read it if you are interested, leave comments if you like.

As we reported last week, Apple supposedly sided with SOPA by proxy. Proxy meaning that they secretly supported it. Now, it seems, Apple is changing their mind because the bill brings some rather questionable powers to the government.

At first, the bill sounded good. Stopping all piracy, blocking questionable piracy sites, and helping the companies keep making money off of their products. In essence, any software company could agree with that. Most of them did (about a month ago). As the bill was introduced, more was unveiled about it. Albeit the bill would bring reduced numbers of piracy, it would also bring about an unstable internet in which the government or law enforcement could seize and shut down any Web Site that held questionable content or broke the law. This is where they over-stepped the line. Many companies already disagreed with the bill because of this, AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo, and Zynga to name a few. It makes sense, because all of these companies have something to do with media, something that is pirated very frequently. The only one that you might disagree with me on that with is Mozilla, but think about it, you need a Web Browser to see Web Sites, so in essence, the government could have blocked them to stop piracy too.

Apple doesn't like the idea of the government having the ability to control the internet. Apple is a large seller of music and music is media. Apple also sells movies on iTunes as well as music. Movies are also media. Apple also has a market for applications, which are also media. Social media is anything that we can use to connect with each other over the internet to communicate, to share, to converse, and to laugh. It's a very broad term that includes anything you can do on a computer because everything you download is nothing but data. Data is social and media is data, it's how we communicate.

Christian Dawson, COO of ServInt, had this to say about SOPA:

... if you walked into Best Buy and saw something on the shelf you thought was pirated merchandise, under a law like the DMCA you would work with the store to get that product off the shelf. Under a law like PIPA or SOPA, you would force the landlord to close Best Buy. Innovation cannot thrive in such an environment. Businesses won’t tolerate continuing to host on U.S.-based servers with the uncertainty that this model creates. Enacting such laws to combat copyright infringement would be like using a flamethrower to find a needle in a haystack.

So now that the biggest supporters of SOPA have pulled themselves away from the dubbed, "Anti-piracy" bill, do you think it will still get passed? Share in the comments below!

Sources: MSNBC

[Moeflex456]

So much for Freedom of speech and the right to see

[blondelefty]

YES YES YES YES!!!!¡!!!¡¡ I'm done.

[Dainelli]

I sure as hell hope it doesn't get passed! It feels much safer now though knowing many of the biggest companies stand against it

[xNEOxGENESISx]

Leaving America asap if this thing gets passed. And Hundreds of thousands more will follow.

[sziklassy]

Certainly a step in the right direction... but it never should have been supported in the first place. This act had "give up your rights" written all over it from the getgo.

[Pwnp27]

I hate all piracy
This would still be a bad idea

[cmwade77]

Even if it does get passed, it will be ultimately held unconstitutional. Really, it is a law governing the free exercise of speech, so it is obviously in violation of the first amendment.It's too bad that when a bill that violates the constitution passes that those that voted for it don't go to jail. It would really reduce the number of these kinds of bills.

[ceramicwhite]

Even if it does get passed, it will be ultimately held unconstitutional. Really, it is a law governing the free exercise of speech, so it is obviously in violation of the first amendment.It's too bad that when a bill that violates the constitution passes that those that voted for it don't go to jail. It would really reduce the number of these kinds of bills.

AGREED...
First it will be piracy then it will be sites that support other controversial issues (Occupy Wallstreet, Wikileaks)
They are obviously upset that posting where the information is located on blogs such as Warez sites makes it almost impossible for them to stop piracy. Sound a lot like the "Great Firewall of China".

[donkeykongking]

... i live in canada eh so were good 'ere

[sziklassy]

Even if it does get passed, it will be ultimately held unconstitutional.

I don't know... are you familiar with the patriot act?

[rayzeur22]

as a non-pirate, id rather have piracy than loss of freedom...

[maddawg05]

... i live in canada eh so were good 'ere

Then you've got a whole different set of problems j/k

[prodigy]

I left this site LONG ago because of the idiocy that has joined as of late but I wish to clarify.This WILL NOT PASS. We will simply shut down the internet as we know it if they try this."I will move out of the country blah blah if they blah blah." Really? America literally OWNS the internet. Do you understand that DNS' run the internet? America told the UN that we will INDEFINITELY OWN ALL DOMAIN NAME SERVERS when it came time to relinquish some of the control. The United States owns all 13 domain name servers that run the ENTIRE internet. If we control them, we can shut down anything foreign easily as well. PirateBay, KAT, anything. There is a LOT more to this than you guys are even scratching at. The US government is trying to control the entire world worth of media with censorship. That is all this is about. Supporting a few large companies is the ploy, world media domination through censorship is the true goal.

[DaEliminator]

This wont get passed though

[ChSchuldiner]

I left this site LONG ago because of the idiocy that has joined as of late...

Please.... just go back from where you came. The power of Modmyi compels you troll!

[Team Infecti0n]

... i live in canada eh so were good 'ere

S.O.P.A and the Protect-IP acts have the right to shut down a website or block websites globally, not just nationally. Don't ask me how, ask our government.

[prodigy]

i hate to double post but read carefully what I just stated. No other country would be safe. Only kids would say they are going to leave the country if this passes or cowards. What we need is a true revolt of all of this corrupt government. No, I am not involved in any occupy bs. I am a full time programmer and this is just come to wits end. We CANNOT allow revocation of free speech. We will not allow censorship of what we created.

[rayzeur22]

Even if it does get passed, it will be ultimately held unconstitutional. Really, it is a law governing the free exercise of speech, so it is obviously in violation of the first amendment.It's too bad that when a bill that violates the constitution passes that those that voted for it don't go to jail. It would really reduce the number of these kinds of bills.

Let's be honest, have we actually seen the American GOV'T give a **** about the bill of rights lately? Even if it is ruled as unconstitutional, they will find a way around it to enforce this law.

[prodigy]

@ Da, I'm no troll. I was in fact here LONG before you partner.