The Most Interestingly Boring Day on the Internet

You may notice that Wed, Jan 18th, 2012 is an interestingly boring day for the internet. Or you may have noticed that the game industry has found its way into the mainstream political news again. The reason for both of these is two Congressional bills that has been tearing the game industry in half -  SOPA & PIPA.

[Note: This article will endeavor to retain a neutral and objective stance on this issue. The author takes sole responsbility for the contents of this article, as it may not neccessarily reflect the views and opinions of the IGDA or the IGDA-LA board.]

What is SOPA/PIPA?
SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Now) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) are controversial bills being debated in the US government. I highly encourage everyone to read the actual legislation text (linked to above) as that is the only way to truly, objectively, know what these bills are all about.

Proponents claim these bills are an important and neccessary step toward protecting content creators. They claim IP theft is becoming increasingly easy in the digital age and new laws are required in order to fight the tide. Some opponents agree with the cause, but disagree with the specific methods imposed by these bills (many of these people throw their support behind OPEN Act). Many opponents claim these are pro-censorship bills that impose unconstitutional limits on free speech & individual privacy. Proponents claim this bill will add or protect thousands of American jobs. Opponents worry these laws would put undo burdens on legitimate small businesses and tech start-ups by forcing them police their users 24-7 or risk being shut down.

Earlier this week, one of the most controversial portions of SOPA - the sections on Domain Name Service blocking - was put on the chopping block after the White House raised concerns that it could pose "real risks" to cyber-security.

Why is the game industry involved?
Some of the biggest proponents of these bills are lobbiests and trades organizations for the entertainment industry (RIAA, mpaa, etc). Meanwhile, the tech corridor has presented the strongest opposition. This puts the games industry - which spans the gap between tech & entertainment - smack in the middle of this controversy.

Industry Support & Opposition
Recently, the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) came out in public support of SOPA and released reports showing that in 2011 they spent $190,000 lobbying for the bills. This has led many development studios, news outlets, and other professional game groups to vocally protest both the bills and the ESA's support of them. Some are even calling for a protest of the annual ESA industry event: E3.

Red 5 Studios CEO, Mark Kern, has gone so far as to start a new organization: the "League For Gamers" (LFG). This group hosts a website linking to a petition requesting the ESA reverse its position. Mark has reportedly donated $50,000 to start the organization and submitted for non-profit status.

Sony, Nintendo, and EA initially announced public support of SOPA, but earlier this month, they withdrew their names from the list of SOPA supporters.

The IGDA has not announced a public stance on these bills, although there has been discussion of the subject in social media gatherings. Some individuals believe the IGDA should take a stance. Others have suggested the IGDA should stay out of it entirely as any stance would likely not be capable of reflecting the opinions of all the developers they represent.

January 18th
So why do I say January 18th the most interestingly boring day on the internet? Because many popular websites are joining together this day to "blackout" their sites in protest of SOPA/PIPA. Google's famous doodle is a black censorship bar that leads to an anti-SOPA petition. Wikipedia articles redirect to an anti-SOPA message where you can find contact info for your Congressional representative. [Interestingly, I can still access the Wiki articles on SOPA, PIPA, and OPEN Act.] Other blacked-out sites include: Gamasutra, Craigslist, VG Cats, Reddit, BoingBoing, and some online games that have said they are following suit. There is even a Wordpress plugin available for bloggers who wish to participate.

[UPDATE: 2AM, 1/8/2011 - some individual IGDA chapters have choosen to join the protest movement by blacking out their individual websites & blogs.]
Notable Supporters: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, Sony Music/Film
Notable Opposition: Electronic Frontier Foundation, Bungie, Epic, Riot, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter

[Note to Non-US residents: I don't know if this impacts non-US versions of these sites. Apparently, there is a foreign protest petition available for petitioning the State Department here. At this time, I have not found any foreign petitions to show support for either bill.]

Personal note: It is always difficult to be objective in your writing when you take a strong stance in your heart. If you have a suggestion for improving the neutrality of this article, or would like to discuss my personal take on this issue, please feel free to drop me a line: brandii@igda.org.