The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has admitted it is "mindful of concerns" over its support of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) but said it has no intention of dropping its backing of the controversial US bill.
In a statement passed to Joystiq, the ESA said: "As an industry of innovators and creators, we understand the importance of technological innovation and content protection, and do not believe the two are mutually exclusive. Rogue websites - those singularly devoted to profiting from their blatant illegal piracy - restrict demand for legitimate videogame products and services, thereby costing jobs.
"Our industry needs effective remedies to address this specific problem, and we support the House and Senate proposals to achieve this objective. We are mindful of concerns raised about a negative impact on innovation.
"We look forward to working with the House and Senate, and all interested parties, to find the right balance and define useful remedies to combat willful wrongdoers that do not impede lawful product and business model innovation."
The ESA represents 34 US videogame companies, and says on its website that it is "dedicated to servicing the business and public affairs needs" of its members. As such, its support for SOPA is unsurprising. While few would disagree that more needs to be done to combat online piracy, SOPA's implications spread far beyond that, with opponents of the bill saying it threatens free speech, could result in websites being shut down arbitrarily without the need for any concrete proof of involvement in piracy, and will not be as effective in combating piracy as intended.
As we reported yesterday, Nintendo, EA and Sony Electronics are no longer listed as supporters of the bill. They remain supporters of SOPA, however, due to their membership of the ESA.
Source: Joystiq
Comments
1There are a lot of reasons to be concerned about this bill. Much like the state of California Vs. ESA, there was far too much leeway for the government to take the censorship to a new level and thankfully the Supreme Court saw through that.
SOPA is almost part and parcel the same thing when it comes to its scope. You can not stop piracy and you never will, and the more you rail against it, the worse it gets (see SONY vs. Annon (or whomever)).
This bill is scary in its scope and the amount of enforcement it allows for. Seizing funds and draconian enforcement is just plain scary. Is the bill a good idea for businesses? On paper and in principal yes but when was the last time you saw any government/business use their power responsibly?