PIPA and SOPA - My Letter to Congress

I'm really not a big protestor but I do protest this legislation and I hope you will too. This will inevitably affect everyone who uses the Internet. Here's my letter to Senator Dan Coats, Senator Richard Lugar, and Representative Dan Burton. Look up your representatives and senators to send a clear message that you do not want this legislation to pass.

Representative/Senator _______, I have a small business that provides a good living for many people. We are happy and we work very hard. Our business is not without its risk, though. We provide a system that allows users to create and update content on their website so they too can promote and market their own businesses and organizations. Many are for-profit and many are non-profit. They rely on their websites to help them grow new clients, maintain existing clients, and provide a service to their communities. Without their websites many would go out of business and many people would lose their jobs.

The proposed SOPA and PIPA legislation is not without its merits but it is certainly without complete due diligence and support by most of the Internet community. This legislation does not provide the proper boundaries for large corporations and government regulators and will be abused. It will inevitably squash many small companies, new companies, and even older established companies. Like I said, my company provides software that allows our users to update and create content on their websites. And since we provide this system we are at risk of being shutdown if one of our customers posts copyright protected content. Additionally, our customers are at risk if we are forced to shut them down because they have been accused of misusing protected content. Companies with large capital reserves could sustain a shutdown while the legalities are worked out but small companies like mine and those of my customers could survive only days or weeks fending off an attack from a well funded legal team.

The legislation is not without its merits. I certainly don't want my copyrighted content and my hard work redistributed for others' gain. But this legislation is not the answer. We already have copyright laws in place. What SOPA and PIPA provide is an "EASY" switch for larger companies and government agencies to flip on and off as they wish, with little to no consideration for the families and lives affected at the other end. It has clear deficiencies and will most certainly be abused.

Please vote NO to SOPA and PIPA legislation so we can continue innovating and rebuilding America's new foundation.