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Amid a huge web community uproar, the likes of which we've not yet seen, the current SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) legislation has been, thankfully, pulled, and sent back for revisions this past Saturday. This is a big relief to many whose businesses rely on the internet for their incomes. SOPA, in its' current edition, had the potential to impact small businesses in ways perhaps not foreseen by legislators and large corporations. If passed, many small business owners, especially those with an online presence, could have seen their website costs increase exponentially, and others taken down completely, as they try to adhere to the potential new law.
Especially impacted would have been those that conduct business via eBay or Etsy shops as these businesses rely almost exclusively on the images submitted by their users to conduct e-commerce transactions. It would have been next to impossible for these small shops to monitor or verify copyrights on submitted images and would place an unfair burden on the small business owner who is already overwhelmed with growing their business in a weakened economy.
Originally drafted by Conservative Republican Lamar Smith, backing corporate lobbyists to curtail online piracy in the entertainment industries where overseas online piracy is rampant, SOPA's initial (noble) intention was to protect copyright infringement and overwrite the abuses of foreign websites who are re-directing users to the mostly foreign sites which allow for the distribution of movies, music, television shows, and software at a fraction of the cost.
There is no doubt that this is a growing problem and needs to be addressed. Artists, writers and musicians works deserve protection from these pirate sites, no doubt.
That being said, the huge tsunami of protest as evident on Wednesday, January 19, 2012 by prominent Internet giants including Google, who blackened out their logos, and Wikipedia which went completely black in protest, clearly illustrates that this is not a problem to be ignored. Their stance: we not prepared for sweeping legislation like SOPA. The ramifications on the online industry could be insanely detrimental as small businesses lack the funds and resources to address these regulations and could be forced to either shut down or move funds from other initiatives, thereby stunting potential growth. Many small business owners have spent a good deal of money to develop their web presence and increase their SEO. Having to invest additional monies for SOPA could very well put many out of business.
So what's a small business owner to do? Well, before getting our panties in a bunch, we will keep abreast of the status of the SOPA revisions and not overreact, but instead watch, listen and learn.... and be vigilant as further legislative changes continue to unfold. Stay tuned!
Especially impacted would have been those that conduct business via eBay or Etsy shops as these businesses rely almost exclusively on the images submitted by their users to conduct e-commerce transactions. It would have been next to impossible for these small shops to monitor or verify copyrights on submitted images and would place an unfair burden on the small business owner who is already overwhelmed with growing their business in a weakened economy.
Originally drafted by Conservative Republican Lamar Smith, backing corporate lobbyists to curtail online piracy in the entertainment industries where overseas online piracy is rampant, SOPA's initial (noble) intention was to protect copyright infringement and overwrite the abuses of foreign websites who are re-directing users to the mostly foreign sites which allow for the distribution of movies, music, television shows, and software at a fraction of the cost.
There is no doubt that this is a growing problem and needs to be addressed. Artists, writers and musicians works deserve protection from these pirate sites, no doubt.
That being said, the huge tsunami of protest as evident on Wednesday, January 19, 2012 by prominent Internet giants including Google, who blackened out their logos, and Wikipedia which went completely black in protest, clearly illustrates that this is not a problem to be ignored. Their stance: we not prepared for sweeping legislation like SOPA. The ramifications on the online industry could be insanely detrimental as small businesses lack the funds and resources to address these regulations and could be forced to either shut down or move funds from other initiatives, thereby stunting potential growth. Many small business owners have spent a good deal of money to develop their web presence and increase their SEO. Having to invest additional monies for SOPA could very well put many out of business.
So what's a small business owner to do? Well, before getting our panties in a bunch, we will keep abreast of the status of the SOPA revisions and not overreact, but instead watch, listen and learn.... and be vigilant as further legislative changes continue to unfold. Stay tuned!