For those who aren’t aware of what the SOPA and Protect IP propose, the bills look to give content-producing companies the right to order a website that they believe is infringing on a copyright to take content off the site. Even if the site only hosts links to content that infringes on a copyright, the owner will have to take it down. Sites that don’t comply could have their advertising and transaction revenue cut off or request that the domain name be blacklisted and rendered inaccessible.
Riot Games, which is best known for developing League of Legends, enumerated the reasons for their opposition of the bill:
* “Kills streaming. If any single streamer plays copyrighted music (or alt tabs into a movie or other owned content) on their stream, there is a significant risk of the entire streaming service being taken down. In some cases, it could even result in criminal penalties for the streamer.”
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“Threatens independent content creation. Services we all use to create and share League of Legends related content, such as YouTube, Reddit, DeviantArt, streaming websites such as Own3d and Twitch, and more would be at risk of shutting down or greatly restricting the scope of legitimate content allowed on their sites.”
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“Attacks our community. Aspects of our service such as the official forums and potentially even in-game chat, could be taken down or have their features reduced based on user behavior.”
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“Other harmful effects. SOPA/PIPA undermine established intellectual property legislation like the DMCA, raise serious constitutional free speech issues, and could even compromise the basic security infrastructure of the internet.”
Epic Games recently announced its lack of support for the bill as well, and Congressmen Jared Polis of Colorado posted in the League of Legends forums. Polis, an outspoken opponent of the bill as well as a League of Legends player (!), wrote, ”I’m particularly concerned that SOPA might stifle the kind of innovation that brings us games we love, such as LoL. The bill makes it far too easy for angry competitors to sue good law abiding companies out of existence.” Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has promised to filibuster on the Senate floor to hamper the bill’s vote by reading off over a million names on an online petition.
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo pulled their names from support of SOPA/Protect IP, but the association they belong to, ESA, is the main backer of the bill, which some have stated makes their withdrawal a pure PR move.
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