Google Goes Big With Its SOPA/PIPA Protests; Blacks Out Logo

Microsoft Finally Makes It Official That It Opposes SOPA.... As Written

from the note-the-caveat dept

Tue, Jan 17th 2012 7:13pm — Mike Masnick

Early on, Microsoft was a quiet -- but definite -- supporter of PIPA. When it came to SOPA, however, apparently had concerns... though it never said anything publicly, until now. On the eve of mass blackouts and protests, Microsoft has released a weak statement about how it opposes the bill "as written," which is somewhat meaningless, given that the bill is about to undergo a revision any way. Notice, too, that they only say SOPA... and not PIPA? Is it really that hard for Microsoft to realize that the whole concept behind these bills is broken? Or is Microsoft just confirming for us that it's past the "innovation" stage of its lifespan, and now moved on to the death spiral of "protecting the way things used to be?"

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Filed Under: pipa, protect ip, sopa
Companies: microsoft

25 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 7:17pm

Micro$oft.

That is all.
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blaktron (profile), 17 Jan 2012 @ 7:22pm

I think its a bit more nuanced than that. MS is the largest provider of DNS services to US corporate clients (anyone running Active Directory uses MS DNS somewhere).

Regardless of their views, personal or corporate, on DNS blocking (or anything of that nature, redirection, signing etc) their customers MUST be confident that they will always be compliant of US law while using MS DNS products.
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Jean-Marc Giffin, 17 Jan 2012 @ 7:28pm

It's quite significant that Microsoft has said anything at all, and I think even just a small statement like that speaks volumes against it. I'm happy that they have officially said they oppose the bill, however brief the statement.
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- Designerfx (profile), 18 Jan 2012 @ 5:36am
  
  Re:
  Please, this is the weakest of statements from them.
  
  In comparison to google, where's *anything* on bing's homepage about SOPA?
  
  Nowhere, because they're dinosaurs of technology.
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  - Hephaestus (profile), 18 Jan 2012 @ 7:22am
    
    Re: Re:
    "In comparison to google, where's *anything* on bing's homepage about SOPA?"
    
    The site was probably written in Visual Studio, it will take them a month to make the change and replicate it out. By then the protest will be over ;)
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    - Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2012 @ 11:38am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      You've covered the development time, but what about getting together the specifications for the change... need to make sure all the stakeholders are aligned... don't forget about the QA time and there'd probably be a public beta or tech demo out for a while I'd think more like Q4 or even Q1 2013
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Violated (profile), 17 Jan 2012 @ 7:52pm

Thanks
Now its only rats fleeing a sinking ship.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 8:17pm

Calls into question Google's preposterous claims of the extraordinary burden of search engine blocking. MS a both a victim of piracy and a search engine sees the situation in a balanced fashion and makes the right decision. Again, Google simply has no significant content business so it invents reasons why it cannot be subject to regulation. Should make for an interesting hearing with MS explaining why they can and Google explaining why it can't.
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- Liz (profile), 17 Jan 2012 @ 8:26pm
  
  Re:
  Again, Google simply has no significant content business so it invents reasons why it cannot be subject to regulation.
  
  A simple "Google" search brings up this list:
  
  Deja.com
  Pyra Labs-Blogger
  Neotonic Software-for CRM
  Applied Semantics-for search
  Kaltix Corp-for context sensitve search
  Genius Labs-for blogging
  Ignite Logic-web templates for law firms
  Picassa-digi photo management
  Keyhole Group-digital mapping
  Where 2 Technologies-digital mapping
  ZipDash-maps and traffic for mobile devices
  2Web Technologies-spreadsheets
  Urchin-metrics/analytics
  Dodgeball-mobile social networking
  Reqwireless Inc.-Java browser
  Current Communications Group-broadband internet
  Android-software for mobile phone o/s
  Transformic Inc-search engine for deep/invisible web
  Skia-graphics software engineering
  DMarc Broadcasting-digital radio broadcasting
  Measure Map-analytics for blogs
  Upstartle-Writely, document editor for the web
  @Last Software-SketchUp 3D modeling
  Orion-Referral search engine
  Neven Vision-automatic information extraction from jpgs
  Jotspot Ind-wiki platform for websites
  YouTube-online video company
  Endoxen-geomapping software
  Xunlei-filesharing app for the web
  Adscape Media-in-game advertising
  Gapminder's Trendalyzer-presentation software
  Doubleclick-ad platform for the web
  Tonic Systems-document conversion technology
  Marratech-video conferencing technology
  Green Border Technologies-secure web browsing tech
  Panoramio-photo site sharing for Google Earth
  Feedbumer-RSS feed distribution analytics and management
  GrandCentral-mobile voice management
  Postini-communications security and compliance
  
  Last I checked, that counts as "content."
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- Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 8:53pm
  
  Re:
  Your desperation is so sad, TAM. I look forward to seeing your increasingly laughable excuses every time the laws your bosses pay for suffer another blow.
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- btrussell (profile), 18 Jan 2012 @ 3:40am
  
  Re:
  "MS a both a victim of piracy and a search engine sees the situation in a balanced fashion and makes the right decision."
  
  Yes, they are against it.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 8:35pm

Death Spiral? With their cash, the M$ will outlast my life, assuming I make it to the average age (at least 40 years).

If anything, they'll turn into a Intellectual Ventures type of camp, buying patents and filing suits.
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ervserver (profile), 17 Jan 2012 @ 8:36pm

re
This would be much more impressive had Microsoft had made this announcement via the Twitter Choir
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MahaliaShere (profile), 17 Jan 2012 @ 8:58pm

So they wait til hours before the blackout before going "hey, me too!"

Sure, I believe you MS.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 9:54pm

Just jumping on the opposition band wagon. Meetoosoft.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2012 @ 9:59pm

How About BSA
OK, so Microsoft is against SOPA/PIPA. They could be a bit more strident about it. How about their creature, BSA (Business Software Association)? BSA is the IP enforcement arm of mostly Microsoft.
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techflaws.org (profile), 18 Jan 2012 @ 12:17am

Gonna ask the obvious: when has Micros~ ever been in an "innovation" stage of its lifespan?
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- Dave, 18 Jan 2012 @ 4:39am
  
  Re:
  You can't be serious? They definitely earned their keep by developing DOS and Windows, particularly back when Unix was a complete motherbitch to figure out and Linux was just a twinkle in some programmer's eye. Really for the average user the only other option was to buy a mac and deal with a rather closed system involving a mouse with only 1 button.
  Can you imagine that lady in the office with the cutesy puppy calendar trying to learn Unix just to make spreadsheets?
  With office and other products I'd say they've continued to do good things. I don't want to stick up for the monopolistic tactics used against companies, particularly ones like Netscape, but I'm glad that we have somewhat of a standard for office document files, and that isn't some terrible output of a company like Lotus, Real, Adobe, etc. MS just plain makes a better product. Things may be changing with OpenOffice on the scene now but really you can't deny what they have accomplished.
  
  I also feel like the hardware division has done very well for itself, right up at the top with Logitech, Sony, Apple, etc. Not really setting new standards there yet AFAIK. Wait, .net is a cross platform microcontroller OS. Yep, still innovating. I'm still salty about the new xbox menu though, I really WANT to hate them, but you can't deny what they've done.
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  - Hephaestus (profile), 18 Jan 2012 @ 7:27am
    
    Re: Re:
    "They definitely earned their keep by developing DOS"
    
    They bought DOS, windows was copied from Xerox Parc, every app they have was copied from someone else. The only reason they exist is because they got there early, and used questionable business practices.
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    - btrussell (profile), 18 Jan 2012 @ 7:47am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      "...but I'm glad that we have somewhat of a standard for office document files..."
      
      That is a joke as well. Their own programs can't even open documents of older versions of same program.
      
      Probably why the Government is still using older PCs' with older programs.
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John Doe, 18 Jan 2012 @ 4:12am

Don't they realize how this will affect them?
They probably think Google is the only one with something to lose, but MS operates a search engine and cloud storage among other services so they have as much at stake as anyone else.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2012 @ 6:40am

They are no longer going to support the bill, but they supported it longer than they did Vista so that's a bonus
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DNY (profile), 18 Jan 2012 @ 7:15am

MS, Supply and Demand and SOPA
You can't really expect any business whose business model depends on artificial scarcity created by government intervention (in the form of monopoly grants called "copyrights" and "patents") to wholeheartedly oppose these measures. Microsoft is only doing this so as not to alienate customers: they, like Hollywood, the recording industry and dead-tree publishers, have failed to adopt the CwF + RtB business model and remain a lawsuit factory.

Such businesses would rather infringe civil liberties and destroy the internet than succumb to the law of supply and demand that naturally drives the cost of any good which can be produced in arbitrary quantity at near zero marginal cost (which includes not just digitized text, audio, images, and video, but software) inexorably toward zero. But that law exists and SOPA, PIPA or any other bill of that ilk will not repeal it.

"Piracy" is not theft (since copyrights and patents aren't actually property -- if they were they'd be of infinite duration as actual property doesn't suddenly become public simply by virtue of the passage of time, and copying does not deprive those who had a copy of their copy as theft of property does), but the inevitable black market (in copies of digital goods) created by government intervention in the economy.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Jan 2012 @ 8:59am

I said it before and I'll say it again. Microsoft will cease to exist as a meaningful tech company within 10 years and with over 60,000 patents, will go on to becone the worlds biggest patent troll. Book it.
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The Luke Witnesser, 20 Jan 2012 @ 4:59am

Here lies the truth about SOPA/PIPA that even TechDirt has yet to report: what MPAA, RIAA, and Hollywood execs do not want you to see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIuYgIvKsc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzS5rSvZXe8

The truth behind why these big companies responsible for SOPA and PIPA are also responsible for piracy itself is far more insidious than even their outmoded business model.

Hint: can you say, do as I say so I can crush you under heel?
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