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

from the that-was-fast dept

Tue, Dec 20th 2011 2:03pm — Zachary Knight

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.

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

27 Comments

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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 ...
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- 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 ...
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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.
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- 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.
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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...
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- :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
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  - Mike42 (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 3:28pm
    
    Re: Re: Go baby go!...FIXED
    Merica, Fuk Yeeeaaah!
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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?
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 2:31pm

Yes, they can ignore the public. Once they get their cushy *AA job.
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- 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.
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  - 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.
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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.
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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.
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- Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 3:19pm
  
  Re: Irony
  "THEN the owners of whitehouse.gov can file a petition to get the fund block removed and their website put back up."
  
  WHITEhouse.gov has nothing to do with it.
  
  Womack is at HOUSE.gov, the site for the House of Representatives
  
  You can't even cut-and-paste properly, boy.
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  - Gothenem (profile), 20 Dec 2011 @ 4:09pm
    
    Re: Re: Irony
    The link to the image is on whitehouse.gov not the image itself.
    
    Remember, under SOPA any site that has links to infringing material is also liable.
    
    the website link is on https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/%252F%21/petition/veto-sopa-bill-and-any-other-future-bills-th reaten-diminish-free-flow-information/g3W1BscR#%21/petition/veto-sopa-bill-and-any-other-future-bill s-threaten-diminish-free-flow-information/g3W1BscR
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  - Travis, 20 Dec 2011 @ 4:31pm
    
    Re: Re: Irony
    Dude, you need to learn reading comprehension. the PETITION at whitehouse.gov has a link to copyrighted material. There for whitehouse.gov would be the infringing site.
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    - WDS (profile), 21 Dec 2011 @ 7:13am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Irony
      At least for me, they have linking disabled on Whitehouse.gov. It is obvious that the author of the petition tried to put the link in, but it is only text, not an active link. (i.e. you have to cut and paste, you can't just click on it).
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- Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 7:35pm
  
  Re: Irony
  Apparently you are not aware of 28 USC 1498(c).
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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.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2011 @ 5:48pm

EFF - the true meaning of "not supported by the public".
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- 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.
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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...
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demented, 20 Dec 2011 @ 6:23pm

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

Have you guys tried a diff browser?
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Squid Lips, 20 Dec 2011 @ 6:28pm

How come
Need more impeachment petitions for reps. who've been bought out.
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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.
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johnkim (profile), 21 Dec 2011 @ 11:26pm

testimonial voiceovers
i like this site its very nice and informative

testimonial voiceovers
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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).
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