Staring Down the SOPA Threat from the Public Square

SOPA is one of those sudsy scandals that don’t easily wipe off in the public wash.  Once you claim you’re all-in on SOPA, it’s difficult to recant and back out and say you didn’t mean it, and GoDaddy is learning that sticky lesson in heated spades:

GoDaddy was one of the few tech firms to back SOPA but it took its name off the public list of supporters following pressure by big web names and many angry customers.

Wikipedia said it would move its domains away from GoDaddy, as did the Cheezburger Network, owner of Lolcats, and image hosting firm Imgur.

In a statement explaining its change of heart, GoDaddy boss Warren Adelman said: “Fighting online piracy is of the utmost importance, which is why GoDaddy has been working to help craft revisions to this legislation – but we can clearly do better.”

In an interview with tech news site Gizmodo, Mr Adelman took a neutral stance on SOPA but said the company might support it if there were a consensus among net firms on its wording.

The backlash against GoDaddy is deserved and righteous — and one gets the feeling that GoDaddy will support SOPA in the future if the terms are right — and that’s why moving away from them is the right move.  Vote with your wallet.  Remove your support from GoDaddy by taking your business elsewhere to a place like pairNIC or easyDNS:

If this becomes law, it’s a short stretch from SOPA to NODA (No Online Dissent Anywhere) and if you think I’m a nutcase for saying so, I’d like to remind everybody what happened just over a year ago, when US politicians were tripping over themselves to shut down wikileaks (a royal fiasco in which this company was embroiled) and to this day, they have not been charged with a crime anywhere.

Some in the media argue you should pressure your representatives in Washington, D.C. and leave pro-SOPA companies like GoDaddy alone.  However, we know politicians are owned by big business and pressing Congress places pressure on the wrong vein.  Attack the arteries.  Attack the source of the blood flow.  Attack those who feed D.C.  Attack the businesses that are pushing SOPA forward with their money and public support.

I know Automattic and WordPress.com are in deep with GoDaddy and other entities operated by the owners of that company — the 14-blog strong Boles Blogs Network runs on WordPress.com — and I hope the simplistic, and disingenuous, GoDaddy recantation will not be enough to keep WordPress.com and Automattic with that company.

Yesterday, I asked my hosting company, Pair Networks, for their position on SOPA.  I do not yet have a reply from them.  pairNIC, my domain registrar, replied to my inquiry early this morning:

Hello David,

pairNIC is not in support of the SOPA legislation.  Please let us know if you have any further questions.

I am delighted pairNIC is on-the-record and doing the right thing by disavowing SOPA.

Jim D’Addario, getting heat for his company’s pro-SOPA position, wrote this recantation this morning:

We have been waging a battle against counterfeiters who sell fake D’Addario strings for over a decade. Today, the packaging on fake D’Addario strings appears authentic but the strings are horrific. These predators have not only stolen our name but are damaging our brand equity and reputation with our valued customers in markets all over the world. As a result, we have asked our elected representatives to pass fair and responsible legislation to help us and other manufacturers combat this problem.

We are hopeful that through the process of legislative compromise Congress will pass a law that preserves constitutionally protected free speech and allows D’Addario and others to fairly compete on a level playing field in the global marketplace. In addition we will be reaching out to all the Congressional representatives in areas where D’Addario has a presence to inform them that we do not support SOPA in its present form.

If you don’t want SOPA to see the light of day — forget Washington.  Pressure the companies that support SOPA.  Hit them with a cudgel they understand:  Losing your money and ruining their reputation in the marketplace.  Don’t give your money to pro-SOPA companies.  Write about pro-SOPA companies and humiliate them in the public square of human opinion.  It is your moral duty to stand up for free speech and crush the censorship that creeps upon you to silence your hands and ears and eyes.