MPAA SOPA blackout statement

http://mpaa.org/resources/c4c3712a-7b9f-4be8-bd70-25527d5dfad8.pdf
(fair use of a release statement)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2012
WASHINGTON —The following is a statement by Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion
Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) on the so-called "Blackout Day" protesting anti-piracy legislation:
"Only days after the White House and chief sponsors of the legislation responded to the major
concern expressed by opponents and then called for all parties to work cooperatively together, some
technology business interests are resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their
corporate pawns, rather than coming to the table to find solutions to a problem that all now seem to
agree is very real and damaging.
It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information and use
their services. It is also an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the
marketplace today. It's a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as
gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users in order to further their
corporate interests.
A so-called "blackout" is yet another gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected
and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign
criminals. It is our hope that the White House and the Congress will call on those who intend to
stage this "blackout" to stop the hyperbole and PR stunts and engage in meaningful efforts to
combat piracy."
About the MPAA
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion
picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Its members
include: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.;
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLC; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
# # #
For more information, contact:
MPAA Washington, D.C.Howard Gantman
(202) 293-1966
Howard_Gantman@mpaa.org

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• sopa
• mpaa
• internet
• blackout
• ban
• Hollywood
• Wikipedia
• pipa
• censorship

[pb19111]

Am I the only one who thinks it could be offensive to call this piracy? I mean doesn't it insult the innocent people who were recently killed by pirates in Somalia? It's just copying its not like anyone is being physically harmed

[sprocket2cog]

@pb19111 yep i agree with you and the other users here, by relating it to a really bad thing like piracy.

i mean i steal a few movies online, i get more time then a guy who kills someone being an idoit on the road's etc... no sense that an idea is worth more then life itself...

[MiHiVidz]

Piracy is bad. Corporate Censorship is worse.

[Gray0450]

It's hard at this point to feel sorry for or support the MPAA. Yes piracy is stealing... But the MPAA is like the UN of the five major film studious. They effectively a monopoly and they rule the entire film industry with a iron fist. They censor our films now they want to censor your internet.

[leeleonor1]

Another liberty they want to remove it will little by little! When we turn around Champ Guantanamo for all

[Uatemysoul]

telling the public that the blackout was to use us as pawns to further the agenda of corporations, lol there were tons of sites that did the blackout and it is all user made content and are completely independent,the MPAA needs to get a grip on top of that wiki was the only site to go down to were most people couldn't get around it and honesty not having Jimmy ask me for 5$ for a day was kinda nice.

[mikebblack]

you wouldn't steal a movie from a movie store don't pirate Movies its the same thing....... you wouldn't go into your neighbors house and blow up his internet server. don't support SOPA its the same thing.