EA, Nintendo and Sony drop SOPA support!
In a pleasantly surprising move, the 3 big game manufacturers EA, Sony and Nintendo appear to have fulfilled Robert Strick’s hope by dropping support of the dreaded SOPA bill.
An updated SOPA Supporters List shows those companies are no longer counted amongst the supporters of the bill. While a boost of morale for those opposing it, one may observe the move with a touch of cynicism considering that the Entertainment Software Association, of which EA and Nintendo are members, and 3 music divisions of Sony, are still listed in support. Thus it is likely there is still lobbying being done on behalf of those 3 organisations.
The SOPA bill, in combination with the Protect IP Act in the Senate, would enable copyright owners to demand the shutdown of a website and blocking of its revenue streams if they believe that site is infringing a copyright. By the wording of the acts, such infringement can even extend to content not directly hosted by the site, such as URL links in a forum, thus giving content producing organization some very broad powers over the Internet.