Tech Companies Getting Called Out For Supporting PIPA/SOPA

from the might-not-be-a-wise-move dept

Tue, Nov 29th 2011 9:17am — Mike Masnick

With the growing public sentiment against SOPA/PIPA, it seems that some of their dislike of these bills is coming back to bite tech companies that have lobbied in support of the bill. It appears that some have been combing through OpenSecrets, and discovered that Sony and Nintendo both lobbied in favor of PROTECT IP (PIPA). This isn't a huge surprise, give who we're talking about. Neither company relies that much on an open internet, but is more focused on closed, proprietary systems that may make use of the internet. But, either way, it seems that people's anger is being directed at such companies pretty quickly these days. Makes you wonder if any other tech companies would actually come out in favor of such bills, and risk a public backlash.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: pipa, protect ip, sopa, tech companies

46 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Travis, 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:28am

Sony protectionism
Makes sense, in the last two years Sony has become more and more draconian in making their PS3 more hostile to modification and homebrew software. Not to mention adding "spyware" on their PS3 update last year if I recall correctly.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Donnicton, 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:34am

Re: Sony protectionism
And I'm not entirely sure that Nintendo even knows what the internet is. Or even wants to know, for that matter.

Have you seen the 3DS' online store? It's like they don't even really want you ordering anything from them online.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chris Rhodes (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:36am

Yep
Three companies I don't purchase products from:

1. Sony
2. Apple
3. Creative

Microsoft is on the list too, but unfortunately I can't avoid Windows. The rest of their products are definitely "do not buy" for me, though.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
bob, 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:38am

They also risk public support...
I may not agree with everything in SOPA/Protect IP, but I think the relentless demagoguery around here is looney. Customers want products that work and they want to pay a fair share of the development costs. Pirates lump all of the development costs on the backs of the people who obey the rules and pull their own weight.

Is it any wonder that Steam-- the DRM system that's loved around here-- charges so much less than the open PC games? That's because Steam pushes everyone to pay into the pot and that's good for the little guy.

So aside from the rabid creator haters around here, I think there will be plenty of little guys buying Sony or Nintendo systems. Why? Because the consoles and the content, when added together, are cheaper. The little guy wins and isn't screwed over by the freeloaders.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Sean heeger, 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:39am

Protectionism
I can go to the library and rip everything. I don't need to file share
[ link to this | view in thread ]
:Lobo Santo (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:41am

Re: Yep
Linux.

LINUX.

L. I. N. U. X. !

I avoid Windows pretty much every day.
You can too.

Go, live the dream.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:42am

Re: Yep
Why not Creative?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chris, 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:49am

Re: Re: Yep
My dream is not having to use Winblows at work... Someday.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
:Lobo Santo (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:53am

Re: Re: Re: Yep
Ah, I have a friend with the exact same issue.

You have my empathy sir.

I'd suggest becoming an "Expert" Code Monkey or an IT Guru--then you can pretty much do whatever you want with your computer system and nobody will naysay you.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Spaceboy (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:55am

Re: They also risk public support...
No one hates the content creators. People hate DRM because of the hoops it forces people to go through. People love Steam because it's much more than DRM. It's a community.

If and when Valve ever collapses we will be the first to scream bloody murder if they don't do something to ensure that people will still be able to play their legally purchased games.

That never happens with file sharing...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
A Dan (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:56am

Re: They also risk public support...
Blaming things on the freeloaders, like attempting to incite class warfare, is normally an attempt to manipulate people into fighting each other instead of standing up for their own position. It's a "divide and conquer" strategy. It's nice when people don't take the bait.

Steam isn't a DRM platform, it's a distribution platform that includes DRM with some games. And some people do hate Steam. But they've shown that their goal is to make money, not to control people. I can respect that.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Prisoner 201, 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:57am

Re: They also risk public support...
"Pirates lump all of the development costs on the backs of the people who obey the rules and pull their own weight. "

I just downloaded Skyrim, deleted it and then downloaded it again. 150 times. Enjoy your negative bank balance.

...screwed over by the freeloaders.

Also, apparently I got laid.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

out_of_the_blue, 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:00am

"their gamer customers will stay angry."
In other words, a rabid and vulgarly vocal minority of kids who just can't live without -- frequently pirated -- games.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/11/09/man-threatens-to-blow-up-store-when-video-game-not-in-stoc k/

You few here are acivists who want to and DO mistake your self-interested (in terms of pro-piracy and game-playing) views for those of the wider society. As in that piece linked to today, MOST of those who object to SOPA still recognize copyright as essential and piracy as a PROBLEM, not "opportunity".

It's also generational phenomena: kids have grown up told that they're "empowered" by the Internet when actually it's the perfect police state tool to monitor their every move, almost exactly as in Orwell's "1984".
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nathan F (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:03am

Re: Re: Yep
I would switch to a Linux build very quickly aside from one small issue.

The vast majority of my time on my home PC is spent in a very short list of programs.

Rift
EVE Online
and after Dec 20 Star Wars: The Old Republic

When Linux can run those without an emulator or development houses start releasing builds for Linux then I will make the switch at home. I have no control over what they run here at work, even less so because I work for the State Government.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
E. Zachary Knight (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:06am

Re: Re: Yep
Creative is run by a bunch of patent trolls. Evil people.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:09am

Re: "their gamer customers will stay angry."
You really are the biggest retard on this site, hands down. Nothing you post ever makes a shred of sense.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
E. Zachary Knight (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:10am

Re: Re: Re: Yep
I felt that way for a while too. Then I just decided that I would never buy a game that does not come with Linux support out of the box. I have since bought many great games and have tons of fun. I have every Humble Bundle so far. That is more than enough for me. If I wanted, I could play Runescape or Maple Story. I play several flash games.

Seriously, there are tons of gaming options.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Rikuo (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:14am

Re: "their gamer customers will stay angry."
What does a madman threatening to blow up a store have to do with SOPA? Answer: It doesn't. The man said he did it because of video games, video games are something enjoyed and downloaded a lot, and with this practically non-existent link, you therefore thought to yourself "Pirates are just like this guy!"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
:Lobo Santo (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:23am

Re: Re: Re: Yep
http://www.playonlinux.com/en/

A custom WINE build--I've had considerable success with my favorite Windows games using it.

Railroad Tycoon 3
Command & Conquer Generals
Rollercoaster Tycoon
etc...

If you were using a *very* lite-weight Linux distro (I suggest ArchBang--and easy Arch Linux build for intermediate+ Linux users) I could see your being able to run games with amazing ease.

Never know till you try...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
DCX2, 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:26am

Re: Re: "their gamer customers will stay angry."
Typical OOTB comment. Take something ridiculous that is only tangentially related to the topic at hand and use it as a straw man to attack positions without having to deal with pesky rebuttals based on actual evidence.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:27am

nintendo is a disappointment, however so far internet offerings from them have been poor.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
DCX2, 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:33am

Re: They also risk public support...
Pirates do not lump any costs on anyone. Pirates are not customers, by definition. Even if you could prevent them all from pirating (and you can't), they still would not buy things.

BTW, people still pirate Steam games. And we aren't "creator haters", which sounds so very much like when Republicans go off about "taxing job creators" that don't actually create jobs.

Finally...people buy Sony and Nintendo systems because they have exclusives that are not available anywhere else. Not because the games are cheaper; they most certainly aren't, as evidenced by my purchase of 10 Steam games for the cost of your average Wii game.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nathan F (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:34am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Yep
I will have to look into this when I get home. Thank you sir.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
rubberpants, 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:39am

Re: They also risk public support...
Obviously, these laws (SOPA / PIPA) are being proposed as a reaction to what the content industry sees as threats to it's business (not out of some altruistic concept like fostering "creativity" as some might suggest).

But, the question then becomes, is the cure worse than the disease?

I don't think you can stop copyright infringement at this point without basically turning off the Internet or restricting it so much that it ceases to be the world-changing, populous-enabling wonder that it is.

Should we stifle one of the greatest inventions of our age and all the communication, organization, sharing, and good that it's brought with it in the hopes that we can increase the profits for an industry that's about the size of the pet supply industry, is currently having record profits, has a history of trying to outlaw new technology, and produces what most consider to be non-essential luxury goods?

The clear answer is no.

On a side note, I've spent over a grand on games through Steam.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chris Rhodes (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:39am

Re: Re: Yep
They were patent trolling for years before it became mainstream (patent troll hipsters?). Read up on their history with John Carmack of id software fame.

Truly a bunch of dirtbags.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
bjupton (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:39am

Re: Re: Re: "their gamer customers will stay angry."
He's the farm team, for sure.

If he were better at it, he'd be Rush Limbaugh.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
ComputerAddict (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:41am

Re: Re: "their gamer customers will stay angry."
I see what you did there... You randomly copy and pasted a bunch of non-sense together and hit submit...

For those who don't read the whole article mike linked to here's the whole quote:

"We can't say with certainty that Nintendo or Sony still support the bill, but again, civil rights advocates seem to be assuming that companies not fighting the bill are supporting it. We've reached out to both companies to find out their latest stance on the issue, and in the meantime, we'd be willing to bet a buffalo-head nickel that their gamer customers will stay angry."

You grabbed a sentence fragment out of context to change the focus of the article to something you wanted to talk about... Well I know I'm not suppose to, but I feel like feeding the troll, I mean someone has to do it, Think of the starving little troll children!

Wquating customers being 'angry' that a business supports SOPA and a customer who was angry that a game was out of stock is like saying teachers picketing for better wages are exactly like the Columbine kids shooting up a school full of kids, I have to agree with AC here, None of your post makes a shred of sense.

What I can say about the article you posted, Here is a paying customer who was unable to be served by traditional brick and mortar distribution methods. Had Modern Warfare been available through a digital download (which is technically possible even for xbox/ps3/wii, although not typically used) and used a different payment model (say pay-per-month like most MMORPGs use) than this Paying customer could have been served, and a crisis averted. This kid may have become a pirate that day, as a direct result of a Customer Service Failure, a Business issue, that doesn't need a law to fix.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Glen, 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:43am

Re: Re: Re: Yep
Patent troll hipsters? Love it!!!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
ComputerAddict (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 10:44am

Re: Re: Re: "their gamer customers will stay angry."
Oops, This should have been a reply to OOTB's comment
[ link to this | view in thread ]
:Lobo Santo (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 11:01am

Re: Re: Re: Re: "their gamer customers will stay angry."
I miss *angry dude*

OOTB is barely a strawman compared to *angry dude*
[ link to this | view in thread ]
DannyB (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 11:22am

Re: Re: Re: Yep
I don't worry about having to use Windows at work. I at least maintain familiarity with it.

At home I run only Linux.

At work, I am not responsible for the Windows, or keeping it working or maintained. BTW, our IT does a great job of keeping our Windows maintained. But if it were to break, it's not my problem.

Maybe one day I will not even have to use Windows at work. I did get my way a few years ago to use Eclipse / Java / etc. My product could, technically, be repackaged to have a beautiful turnkey install onto other OSes.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chris Rhodes (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 11:50am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: "their gamer customers will stay angry."
I think he's more like the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz.

If he only had a brain . . .
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2011 @ 12:50pm

Re: Re: They also risk public support...
Many games can be run directly through the exe. Also you can play in offline mode. Just make sure to backup your steam directory.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Trails (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 1:10pm

Re: They also risk public support...
Despite throwing around terms like "demagoguery", you seem to agree with most of us. Convenient digital distribution is a good way to "counter" piracy.

Describing Steam as a "DRM system" is perhaps disingenuous, and at the very least discounts WHY it's successful, thus missing the point(intentionally?).

I don't think people 'round here (or anywhere) "want to pay their fair share of development costs", so much as "are fine to pay what the feel is a fair price for something".

Referring to people here as "content haters" is downright bullshit though, and you know it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Trails (profile), 29 Nov 2011 @ 1:14pm

Re: "their gamer customers will stay angry."
That was almost Jack Thomsonian of you! Lumping people opposed to net censorship, gamers, copyright infringers and some anecdotal case of a lunatic threatening to bomb a store into one group. Couldn't you work in pedophiles too?

The problem, though is that it only rings true to people who when asked "How do you respond to claims this will break DNSSEC?" answer with a vacant stare before deciding it's time for lunch.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2011 @ 1:23pm

Re: Re: They also risk public support...
Also, apparently I got laid.

Does your asshole still hurt?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2011 @ 1:34pm

Re: Re: "their gamer customers will stay angry."
I think that he's a bot that uses a combination of coined phrases generated by an algorithm that was full of bugs
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2011 @ 3:03pm

Re: Re: They also risk public support...
"I don't think you can stop copyright infringement at this point without basically turning off the Internet or restricting it so much that it ceases to be the world-changing, populous-enabling wonder that it is."

Did it ever occur to you, that exactly *that* might be the purpose behind all this?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 Nov 2011 @ 3:41pm

Aw man, I don't want to add nintendo to my black list. It's getting harder and harder to shop for anything and avoid douche bag companies. Fine, I'll download an emulator.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Archillies, 29 Nov 2011 @ 7:13pm

Re: They also risk public support...
Bob,people don't know or care about dev costs. They want a product that works at a price that they consider fair.

Players like Steam because it generally stays out of the way of playing the game. Again I don't think price applies regarding the DRM Valve just understands their market.

Your statements just don't match up with human nature. Nice try at trolling though, try again.

- > Archillies
[ link to this | view in thread ]
rubberpants, 29 Nov 2011 @ 9:19pm

Re: Re: Re: They also risk public support...
Indeed it has.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Prisoner 201, 30 Nov 2011 @ 12:46am

Re: Re: Re: They also risk public support...
Have you stopped beating your wife?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Richard (profile), 30 Nov 2011 @ 8:14am

Re: They also risk public support...
Pirates lump all of the development costs on the backs of the people who obey the rules and pull their own weight.

Exactly - and that is why copyright should be abolished.

The situation you describe is inevitable - and therefore the only sensible course of action is to accept it and move to a model that matches reality.

When you want to produce some content you solicit support from amongst the group that wants to pay a fair share of the development costs, they fund the project and then you release it for free to everyone. That way the same group of people funds the project as now - and we all lose the ridiculous costs of enforcing copyright.

You see if you follow your own thoughts to their logical conclusion then you will end up exactly where I am.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
A Dan (profile), 30 Nov 2011 @ 8:53am

Re: Re: Re: Re: They also risk public support...
Perhaps it was a reference to the "Prisoner" nickname you used.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Andrew (profile), 30 Nov 2011 @ 10:28am

Re: "their gamer customers will stay angry."
I really want to report this post but I just find it so confusing that I wonder if they should have a 4th button called "confused".
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Bibi, 23 Jan 2012 @ 7:41am

I dont understand why the congress wants to do this "SOPA" non-sence. The people in America and all over the world use these music sharing websites. Like Funformobile, those are just ringtones. people are NOT just going to pay .99 for just a 20-40 second ringtone. thats just rediculous. And the people that are complaining bout not makeing money because people are "stealing" theyr music, they need to be quiet because they make alot alot of money. Other people want money too. we want loot people. so for them to do that theyr going to copy, paste alot of cd's and put movies and music on them and sell them for a good profit.
[ link to this | view in thread ]