Domain Registrars Protest SOPA/PIPA

On January 18, 2012, several websites, including domain name sites, went dark to protest the proposed legislation restricting the use of copyrighted material on the internet. This legislation, in the form of two linked bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), was moving through Congress at an accelerated pace thanks to the support of numerous media conglomerates such as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and AOL/Time Warner.

Websites such as Wikipedia and Reddit shut down for 24 hours, beginning at midnight on the 18th, to protest the bills and spread awareness to areas of the nation that might not be aware of them. Google, while it didn’t end any functionality, had a blacked-out version of its logo and a link on its homepage requesting protest by citizens to their congressional representatives. Some were upset with those companies that are very involved with online content such as Go Daddy. However they have great customer loyalty with their godaddy coupon and other features to keep prices low.

Many large and small sites joined in the protest. These bills represent a cause that matters to virtually the entire internet community. GoDaddy, one of the supporters of the bill, lost an enormous number of subscribers due to its pro-SOPA stance (which it later reversed). Additionally, domain name registrars NameCheap.com, Name.com, and Hover.com joined in the protest, showing that it wasn’t just sites that rely on user-submitted content to find the legislation ill-intentioned.

SOPA has been stalled indefinitely due to the outcry. Many of the bill’s congressional sponsors have backed down their support.