GoDaddy recently withdrew its support with the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). The decision of the company, which provides webhosting and domain registration services, is a response to the negative reactions of its customers from its previous position to support SOPA.
SOPA is a piece of legislative proposal presently debated in Congress. The proposed law enhances the censorship power of the government against websites deemed infringing copyrights. While the campaign for blocking the bill is gaining support, it is still expected to pass because of the support of powerful companies including those in the media industry.
GoDaddy’s initial position was revealed when its name was included in the list of 150 companies supporting SOPA released by the US House of Representative Judiciary Committee. Since then, many customers of GoDaddy removed their accounts from the company and many more are threatening to follow.
GoDaddy CEO Warren Adelman, in a statement, said that the move of the company is in the best interest of its customers. He also said that the decision was made after considering online discussions on the matter. While GoDaddy withdrew its support, it is not clear whether it is against SOPA. The CEO said that the piece of legislation is not yet ready and still needs revisions. He also said that the company will let others take the lead and GoDaddy will support it if the internet community will support it.
Internet users view the internet as the symbol of freedom of information and communication. SOPA will clip that freedom by restricting the flow of information, through censorship, on the ground of violation of intellectual property rights. While SOPA will not kill the internet, it will definitely change how it works.
Meanwhile, GoDaddy has to deal with its customers for now. Whether the shift of its position on the SOPA will appease and restore the trust of its customers is yet to be seen.
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Tags: godaddy, godaddy against sopa, sopa, stop online piracy act
