As we get closer and closer to learning SOPA’s fate — with Lamar Smith’s amendments salve the wounds? — the lines of support and discontent concerning the bill have been clearly drawn. On the opposition side, we have a consortium led by Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Twitter, among others, and they have been vocal in their lack of approval for SOPA, and how goes about its business.
While there have been some companies that have come out in support of SOPA — NBC and Viacom, for instance — there hasn’t been a definitive list of SOPA supporters. Until now. Thanks to The Domino Project, which is powered by Amazon, another company against SOPA, we know have a clearer idea concerning the face of our enemy those who support the bill in its current state.
The list goes by the “Who wants to break the Internet?” title, and considering the issues many tech companies have with SOPA, it should come as no surprise the supporting companies are presented in such an unflattering light. The list in question:
ABC
AFTRA – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
AFM – American Federation of Musicians
AAP – Association of American Publishers
ASCAP
BMG Chrysalis
BMI
CBS Corporation
Cengage Learning
DGA – Directors Guild of America
Disney Publishing Worldwide, Inc.
EMI Music Publishing
ESPN
Graphic Artists Guild
Hachette Book Group
HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C.
Hyperion
IATSE – International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Kaufman Astoria Studios
Macmillan
Major League Baseball
Marvel Entertainment, LLC
McGraw-Hill Education
MPA – The Association of Magazine Media
NFL – National Football League
National Music Publishers’ Association
NBCUniversal
News Corporation
New York Production Alliance
New York State AFL-CIO
Pearson Education
Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
The Perseus Books Group
Producers Guild of America East
Random House
Reed Elsevier
SAG – Screen Actors Guild
Scholastic, Inc.
Silvercup Studios
Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Time Warner Inc.
United States Tennis Association
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Publishing Group
Viacom
Warner Music Group
W.W. Norton & Company
Wolters Kluwer
It should come as no surprise to see a large portion of companies with ties to the entertainment industry showing up in the list. Companies like ESPN, ABC, Viacom and the Warner Music Group. Clearly, this is because these are the ones with the most to lose, at least, if you ask them. Members of this group don’t care if SOPA breaks and/or censors the Internet in the process, they just want their intellectual property protected.
Oddly enough, those that oppose SOPA/PIPA also want IP protected, but not with the methods described by the acts in question. Does knowing the identity of these SOPA supporters make you reconsider whether or not you’ll do business with them? Let us know what you think.