The Entertainment Software Association, a lobbying group for the biggest companies in gaming, has dropped its support of the dangerous congressional bills, SOPA and PIPA. These two bills, should they pass, would effectively destroy the internet and give control over what remains to big media corporations. The ESA has previously supported the bills, but a massive internet protest campaign forced them to change their stance. The group’s announcement to this effect is especially interesting, as it implies a group full of lobbyists and lawyers had no idea what was in the bills they were championing. Kotaku has the story.
SOPA delenda est.
Keep in mind, this is a victory, but not a decisive one. The forces who created these two bills will try again. We can only be certain once the very concepts behind the bills are considered political poison. I suggest voting the sponsors of these bills from office, as a start.
Of course, it’s safe to drop support for the bill now that it’s essentially been shelved. (We’ll see if it zombies.) I am glad to hear that some of their sub-element companies who opposed SOPA took their questions to the ESA to ask them why they planted their name on the bill.
No doubt, the underlying philosophy of these bills will come back.
The copyright cartels and the US government already collude to abuse the powers they have–as seen in the Megaupload debacle–the copyright cartels are just seeking to justify the use of these powers in law so that it’s more difficult for the judicial branch to swing against them.
They will continue to overstep and seek to control the public and world culture with the expectation that they deserve to make money when they themselves borrow heavily from that culture.