Public Opposition Accelerates As Latest Anti-SOPA Petition Hits Goal In Two Days

from the that-was-fast dept

One of the tactics deployed by supporters of SOPA is that there is no real concern from the public regarding the legislation. They like to claim that only those who profit from piracy really want to block this bill. Yet, we see time and time again this is not true. With letter writing campaigns from groups such as the EFF, Public Knowledge and Demand Progress having generated hundreds of thousands of letters, emails and phone calls from concerned citizens, the pro-SOPA groups have had to resort to drastic inflation to defend their side. We now have further evidence that such widespread opposition to SOPA is not only growing but accelerating as well. This evidence comes in the form of two We The People petitions on the White House website.

The first of these petitions, titled "Stop the E-PARASITE Act", was created back on October 31 when SOPA was known as E-PARASITES. This petition slowly gained signatures for about two weeks and then had a surge of support when the House Judiciary Committee held its stacked hearing on the legislation. On November 16, the petition hit its 25,000 signature goal, a full 14 days before its deadline.

Fast forward to December 18. Only a few days after the House Judiciary Committee held its SOPA markup, a new petition surfaced, "VETO the SOPA bill and any other future bills that threaten to diminish the free flow of information". With the markup fresh in the minds of those opposed to SOPA, this petition reached its target of 25,000 signatures on December 19, the second day after going public. That is quite the feat.

If there is no real public concern over SOPA, as supporters of the bill claim, who are these people? Why are they so mobilized to sign and complete far ahead of the deadline not one but two White House petitions in opposition to the legislation? Regardless of who these people are or what their motivations for opposition to SOPA are, one thing is clear, these people want action and answers. While there is no time frame for when the Obama Administration will respond, one thing is clear, SOPA is a hot button issue and those trying to force its way through Congress will not be able to ignore the public for much longer.
Hide this

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: copyright, petitions, pipa, president obama, protect ip, public awareness, sopa, white house


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Fake Tam, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:17pm

    but ... but ... but ... something about it being somehow easier to garner more support against a bill than for it because ... something about the majority of people who aren't signing a petition against it being somehow supportive of it ...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:20pm

      Re:

      oh .. oh .. oh, I almost forgot. Something about union and corporate executives being for the bill and something about this somehow implying that all of their members are for it too ...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    gorehound (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:19pm

    I have sent emails daily to the white house,my reps, and to any others i can think of.and i have made calls as much as i can.
    i called boehner and cantor today.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:55pm

      Re:

      Me too. I get the same stupid response back...

      Thank you for contacting me regarding current legislation that addresses the issue of online theft of intellectual property. It is good to hear from you.


      S. 968, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property (PROTECT IP) Act, was introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) on May 12, 2011, to allow the U.S. attorney general to seek court orders requiring U.S.-based search engines and internet service providers to stop providing links to infringing sites, in addition to requiring payment processors and online advertising networks to refrain from conducting business with such sites. The PROTECT IP Act was reported by voice vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee and is currently pending before the full Senate for passage.



      While a companion bill to the PROTECT IP Act has not been introduced in the House, Congressman Lamar Smith (TX-21) introduced H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act, which has the same general goal of protecting American ingenuity. It also goes farther to work with other governments, including those of other countries, to combat piracy, in addition to increasing criminal penalties. H.R. 3261 is a more aggressive bill in regard to fighting the theft of intellectual property, and it is currently under consideration by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet.



      While I believe individuals and entities who possess copyrights and patents deserve to fully benefit from the legal protection afforded them, any legislation of this magnitude must be carefully considered. I support working toward a solution to ensure our nation's legal system protects the hard work of songwriters, performers, authors, artists, engineers, and countless others who invest their time and energy to better our country. I assure you I will keep your thoughts in mind as my colleagues and I consider this legislation in the House of Representatives.


      Again, thank you for contacting me regarding intellectual property legislation. Please continue to keep me informed of the issues that are important to you, and be sure to visit my website, www.womack.house.gov, for more information.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Someantimalwareguy (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:27pm

    Go baby go!.

    Thanks - signed it today as I missed it having signed the first one when it was put up.

    Interesting note is that the signatures are still accumulating at a pace I have never seen on that site before - keep refreshing the page to see how quickly. So much for a lack of concerned citizens...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      :Lobo Santo (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:31pm

      Re: Go baby go!.

      Hey, secretly take away our freedoms and we'll just shrug and say "meh" but take away our most central method for getting movies/shows/games/porn/shopping and perhaps some knowledge and you'll find Americans up in arms, coming out of the woodwork, [insert somewhat time-worn aphorism here], etc.

      America, Fuck Yeah!

      ;-P

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:31pm

    I would expect a vapid, condescending response from a junior staffer should be forthcoming. Where's my cookie?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:31pm

    Yes, they can ignore the public. Once they get their cushy *AA job.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      The eejit (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:41pm

      Re:

      But they don't have it yet. And when they do...There should be a sitcom about it.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 6:05pm

        Re: Re:

        I think a tragedy might be more applicable...if their position wasn't so damned hilarious.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    WDS (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:37pm

    The Link

    I just finished looking at the link that they posted in the middle of the petition. It is certainly worth a look. You have to cut and paste it, because it is not an active link on the site.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Gothenem (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:59pm

    Irony

    Irony in that if SOPA passes, whitehouse.gov should be blocked because it contains a link to a copyrighted image. And all funds going to the owners of whitehouse.gov should be stopped by all major banks and credit card companies.

    THEN the owners of whitehouse.gov can file a petition to get the fund block removed and their website put back up.

    The irony comes from the fact that whitehouse.gov is owned by the US Government. Which means that all we have to do is put links to music videos and copyrighted images/video clips and we can Shut down the government until they can prove in court that they are innocent.

    Yeah, this is the America that our Forefathers laid down their lives for.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 4:54pm

    Unable to sign the new petition for last two hours. Page not found error. Seems a little too coincidental to me.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 5:48pm

    EFF - the true meaning of "not supported by the public".

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Mike Masnick (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 6:04pm

      Re:

      EFF - the true meaning of "not supported by the public".


      1. What does any of this have to do with EFF?

      2. What do you mean by "not supported by the public"?

      Once again, it looks like you're full of it.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Rekrul, 20 Dec 2011 @ 6:08pm

    With Javascript disabled, I get a message that the site is undergoing maintenance and that I should check back later. If I enable JS, the page is just blank.

    Yeah, I'm sure it's just a coincidence...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    demented, 20 Dec 2011 @ 6:23pm

    That's funny, it's working fine for me.

    Have you guys tried a diff browser?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Squid Lips, 20 Dec 2011 @ 6:28pm

    How come

    Need more impeachment petitions for reps. who've been bought out.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Philip (profile), 21 Dec 2011 @ 10:55am

    Need a better petition...

    I would have signed if this wasn't just so badly written. It's written as if by a high schooler. I didn't give it any serious credit.

    I suck as a writer. But I'm hoping somebody would create something like this, better written, better backed, and with a lot of good examples of current, and potential abuse if this law goes into affect.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    johnkim (profile), 21 Dec 2011 @ 11:26pm

    testimonial voiceovers

    i like this site its very nice and informative

    testimonial voiceovers

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Vanessa Deagan, 23 Dec 2011 @ 12:01pm

    If you really care, watch and vote for this YouTube video

    Watch this YouTube video if you really give a damn about SOPA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIuYgIvKsc (and don't forget to vote).

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.