How many of you have heard of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act)?  I just came across some information on it today and am interested to know how it impacts the targeted direct marketing lists industry.

First of all, what is SOPA and why is it being pushed through the US House of Representatives?  What is its impact going to be on the Direct Marketing industry and my clients?

Here are some details of the bill from Wikipedia:  “The bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Justice to seek court orders against websites outside U.S. jurisdiction accused of infringing on copyrights, or of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement….The bill also establishes a two-step process for intellectual property rights holders to seek relief if they have been harmed by a site dedicated to infringement.”

From the sounds of the above, the bill sounds like it is protecting us rather than harming us.  I am going to do some more research to see what others have to say.

Here is an article from Business Insider entitled, “This is SOPA, The Crazy Bill Everyone in Tech is worried about.”  Here is a key excerpt from the article: “he Attorney General would have the power to cut off select websites from search engines like Google. It could also cut off advertisers and payment processors like Visa from the sites. The Attorney General could essentially kill all of a site’s traffic and revenue in a matter of days.”  SOUNDS LIKE TOO MUCH BIG BROTHER TO ME!

Here is one other article from The Verge, entitled “What is SOPA and how does it work?” Here’s what they say about SOPA: “SOPA and PIPA are the effective equivalent of blowing up every road, bridge, and tunnel in New York to keep people from getting to one bootleg stand in Union Square — but leaving the stand itself alone.”  Again, this doesn’t sound very productive to me – you?

I would certainly keep an eye on this legislation to see how it is actually working or not.  I will continue to provide my clients with targeted direct marketing lists until I am told otherwise.

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