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Rackspace: SOPA "Is a Deeply Flawed Piece of Legislation"

Posted by samzenpus on from the jumping-on-the-pile dept.

hypnosec writes "Cloud-based hosting service provider Rackspace has joined the ever expanding list of companies that are opposed to the U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). In a blog post, Rackspace CEO Lanham Napier said that the controversial bill, which will get its final vote before the House Judiciary Committee, will do more harm than good, punishing innocent users in the process. 'The SOPA bill, as it stands, is a deeply flawed piece of legislation. It is bad for anyone who uses the Internet, including Rackspace, the more than 160,000 business customers that we serve, and the tens of millions of retail customers that they serve. It is bad for job creation and innovation,' Napier wrote."

30 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. Nearly all laws are by reboot246 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Most all laws over the last few decades have been deeply flawed in some way. That's what you get when you elect idiots.

    1. Re:Nearly all laws are by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Or rather, that's what you get when your politicians can make promises of intent without any fear of being held accountable once elected.

    2. Re:Nearly all laws are by reboot246 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Tell me about it! My Congressman is Spencer Bachus, one of the biggest crooks and liars in Washington. We're probably going to vote him out next year, but whoever replaces him will probably be just as bad.

      I say "probably" because we have a lot of idiot voters, too.

    3. Re:Nearly all laws are by ColaMan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Oh they're not idiots.

      They're very smart.

      It's just that they have different goals to what you would like.

      --

      You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
      There is a lot of hype here.
    4. Re:Nearly all laws are by 0123456 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Most all laws over the last few decades have been deeply flawed in some way. That's what you get when you elect idiots.

      No, it's what you get when you let a bloated central government interfere with every aspect of your life.

      Central planners almost always fsck up, even when they're acting with good intentions; when they get something right it's almost always by chance.

    5. Re:Nearly all laws are by deblau · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's what happens when Congress is in the pocket of big business. Any good business person will tell you that you need recurring revenue. Congress does it through sunset provisions: "Oh, that law you really like is expiring soon? Well, maybe I can get an extension passed, but it'll cost lots of money to advance that ahead of extensions that other people want." It's really a racket.

      --
      This post expresses my opinion, not that of my employer. And yes, IAAL.
    6. Re:Nearly all laws are by Sloppy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's what you get when you elect idiots.

      Who is the greater idiot: the idiots or the idiots who vote for them?

      Let's not for a moment pretend we have anyone other than ourselves to blame. Everyone says they hate SOPA, but talk about voting against the SOPA parties and suddenly you're a wacko and 90+% people start listing reasons they plan to support the people who enact it.

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    7. Re:Nearly all laws are by BlueStrat · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Most all laws over the last few decades have been deeply flawed in some way. That's what you get when you elect idiots.

      No, it's what you get when you let a bloated central government interfere with every aspect of your life.

      Central planners almost always fsck up, even when they're acting with good intentions; when they get something right it's almost always by chance.

      This.

      It's sad and ironic that so many that are invested in the entitlement society suffer selective blindness when the all-too-predictable results of such central planning & control manifests, and call for even more central planning & control to "fix" the problem of too much central planning & control.

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    8. Re:Nearly all laws are by Skal+Tura · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Lesser evil does not make evil good.
      If it bears any resemblance to SOPA it's just as evil.

      --
      Pulsed Media Seedboxes
    9. Re:Nearly all laws are by drb226 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Stopping piracy is not evil.

      Maybe it is. I don't have the philosophical finesse right now to think of a way to support the statement "Stopping piracy is evil", but I imagine a somewhat convincing case could be made for it. In any event, "stopping piracy" should not be immediately and universally recognized as a Good Thing.

  2. Ugh by rwven · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The most hilariously annoying part of this bill is that there's not a single sane citizen of this country who, when properly educated on the bill's impact, would vote for such a thing....yet the lunatics running this country will probably pass it right on through since they're in the chokehold of the industries and power mongers which DO want it.

    If it's possible to lose any more faith in the people at the top, I certainly will if this is passed. I'll also cast opposing votes against any representatives who vote for it, regardless of party affiliation.

    1. Re:Ugh by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 5, Insightful
      The problem is that, for a variety of reasons, American presidential candidates are obligated to be Christian and are kinda stuck pandering to religious morons - The clout of the shadowy Family and attendance of their National Prayer Breakfast is a good example.

      Many of us believe in a god, or (like me) are outwardly atheist, but many of us who don't believe in a god claim a religion or denomination for reasons of family history(and, more specifically, the risk of being ostracized or written out of the lucrative will for angering the more traditional elders).

      Ethanol-fueled, where is this rant going?

      Religious people want censorship. The internet's free flow of information is anathema to their shackled minds and irrational fear of truth.

    2. Re:Ugh by vlm · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't think you get how this works.

      Two candidates are proposed, both owned by the same corporations planning to support identical policies.

      You apparently really hate the marketing message the R people used, but that doesn't mean they would have done anything different.

      Oh sure, they would have attended twice as many prayer breakfasts, and half as many MLK parades, but I'm not thinking the end result would be any different.

      Standard /. car analogy is its like getting all emotional about cars because the Saturn was a really nice car but the commercials suck so you bought a Toyota which is also a really nice car and thinking its important that the Toyota tv commercials don't suck as much.

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
    3. Re:Ugh by jamstar7 · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Of course this bill will pass overwhelmingly. It's an attempt to centralise and monopolise a decentralised and antimonopolistic service. Those who bought and paid for this bill won't be satisfied until the only way to get any kind of content off the net is after you pull out your credit card. Forget about content creation, if you're not a big buck studio, you won't have a seat at the table anymore.

      And don't scream too loudly if any of your ideas are ripped off by Big Bizz to make a buck off of. The true citizens of the US (multinational corporations) have certainly gotten their money'sworth this time. Until an individual can amass the cash that a multinational can, their voice does not matter.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    4. Re:Ugh by element-o.p. · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes. Ron Paul is an anti-constitutionalist, anti-libertarian (he only cares that the federal government is neutered, he loves the idea of the individual states violating peoples rights), a hypocrite, a liar, a theocrat and anti-American traitor.

      Really? You think that because he maintains the position that the powers of government not enumerated in the Constitution are reserved for the states, Ron Paul is anti-Constitutionalist, a hypocrite, a liar and a traitor? Even though I can see how you might think that refusing to support a bill that might, in fact, be Libertarian and even good for the country on the basis that it requires the federal government to usurp a power that it does not legally have as being entirely a Bad Thing, I find it consistent with his philosophy of government, and even a Good Thing. There is a mechanism in place to grant power to the federal government that the Constitution does not already grant: it's called a Constitutional amendment. If the law really is that good, pass an amendment. If the amendment doesn't pass, then there's a pretty good chance that the value of the bill has not been adequately established. If the failure to pass such a bill means that individual states pass bad laws, well, at least it's easier to change a local government than a federal one. Furthermore, if a state law truly sucks that bad, it's far easier to move to another state than to another country. Depending upon where you live and where you move to, you might not even have to quit your job to move (even though I would...it's a heck of a commute to Alaska from anywhere else).

      --
      MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
    5. Re:Ugh by crdotson · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ah, but you're offensive, arrogant, and statistically speaking probably not as smart as me! And yet I believe in God, so why don't you just let me as long as I'm doing you no harm? Instead of trying to "convert" me, by being an asshole -- has that ever worked for you, by the way?

      Save your anger for the religious nutcases who are actually causing harm. If I choose to "delude myself" because it makes my life more enjoyable, it's really not your problem. I'll make you a deal -- I won't tell you who you can marry or what drugs you can take if you don't tell me what to believe, or not believe. OK?

  3. Doesn't matter, the fix is in by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Obama and most of the Democratic Party are owned by the big Hollywood studios. The Republican Party is owned by big business in general. The only reason this hasn't passed already (without even a public debate) is that Google and a handful of other big players are fighting it. But even Google is a relatively small fish in this money game.

    As for those of us without deep pockets--well save yourself that stamp on a letter to your Congressman.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:Doesn't matter, the fix is in by vlm · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Democratic Party are owned by the big Hollywood studios. The Republican Party is owned by big business

      Those are two sides of the same coin.

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
    2. Re:Doesn't matter, the fix is in by andydread · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Its unfortunate truth you speak unfortunately. Joe Biden is the biggest whore for Hollywood MPAA and RIAA in washington along with Orin Hatch and Berman from California. Just go look up his record when he was in the senate. one shudders....

    3. Re:Doesn't matter, the fix is in by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 4, Insightful

      yes - BUT - the R party is also owned by Big Religion.

      that is their permanent (until they decide to change this) handicap.

      there may be some small good points that the R's have but the fact that they sold their souls to the american taliban (christian right extremists) means I could never vote for any of them, on that principle, alone. the party is too tainted by that one controlling force.

      remove that force (it was not always embedded in the R point of view) and then we might have a valid 2 party system. but right now, we have a religious party, a whichever-way-the-wind-blows party and that's pretty much it. neither is worth voting for. both are owned by big business; just different ones.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    4. Re:Doesn't matter, the fix is in by king+neckbeard · · Score: 3, Insightful

      But Google is actually bigger than Hollywood. They just don't spend as much on lobbying because their business model is based largely on being left alone, while Hollywood's business model currently depends on having the government tell others what they can't do.

      --
      This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  4. Re:PR opportunity by sd4f · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think it's just free publicity, like just look, they got on /.

  5. Re:Doublespeak/Equivocation by Midnight_Falcon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How about what Google is doing, paying lobbying groups and using lots of their resources to actively campaign against SOPA?

  6. Re:What Would Happen... by itchythebear · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Interesting thought, but as has been pointed out before, they don't actually care what happens to the internet. The Govt will fund a Govt only network (if they need it) and big media will finally not have to worry about people illegally downloading their "product" and can go back to charging 20 bucks for a CD and forcing television down everyone's throats.

    Yet more proof of how little our representatives care about us eh?

    --
    If what I just said sounded like a troll, it was probably just a failed attempt at humor.
  7. Politicians or Money by andydread · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Lets face it. The problem is money in politics. When the RIAA and MPAA come knocking with oodles of cash to help get congress critters elected how can they refuse? The only way to solve this problem and much of the problem with Washington is to thoughtfully and radically remove money from politics. Until that is done the politicians will just keep on promising the people and delivering to the corporations with the fattest wallet.

    1. Re:Politicians or Money by phorm · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Money (cash)
      Promises of cushy jobs after your term is up.
      Fancy dinners/events
      etc
      etc
      How exactly would one go about removing it all from the equation. Block one way and they'll find another, and no politician is going to vote against his/her ability to receive favours...

    2. Re:Politicians or Money by 0123456 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The only way to solve this problem and much of the problem with Washington is to thoughtfully and radically remove money from politics.

      No, the way to fix it is to remove _POWER_ from politics. If government is limited to things that only government can do (e.g. courts, military, etc) then you don't need to worry about it making crazy laws that will destroy things it knows nothing about; if government interferes in every aspect of your life, you can guarantee it will fsck things up.

  8. Something not mentioned.... by dcigary · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Rackspace is a large constituent of Lamar Smith's District 21 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Texas.21st.Congressional.District.gif) as they are headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Having this large of an employer in his own district against the legislation should be a big wake-up call to Rep. Smith.

    --
    ...my Karma ran over your Dogma...
  9. Re:and yet it will probably pass by erroneus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't know. We said the same thing about the AT&T buyout of T-Mobile. We all knew it was bad for competition. We all knew AT&T was lying to the government about it. And even when the truth leaked out, AT&T and various government people continued to push for it. It looked really bad. But there was LOTS of talk. It became very high profile. The added light and notice the issue got eventually killed the deal.

    People need to continue shouting from the rooftops about SOPA.

    One thing I have yet to see talked about is how laws like DMCA and the proposed SOPA continue to increasingly put police and government powers in the hands of non-government people... people who aren't otherwise accountable for their actions. It's a huge violation of government trust.

  10. Re:Flawed? by jersacct · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let's not give detractors too much credit. "As it stands", as quoted by Rackspace's CEO, implies that a simple revision of the legislation would make it okay.