You may, or may not, have heard about the Protect-IP (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) currently under consideration in Congress. If passed, one of the many things SOPA requires is that Web hosting companies police websites in order to prevent them from communicating copyrighted information on the Internet. Consequently, I would like to take this opportunity make sure you are aware of  Amherst Partner's position on SOPA.

As a provider of domain name registration and hosting services, I oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) or Protect-IP (PIPA) Acts currently under consideration. While I recognize and understand the concerns of those who are troubled by the potential impact on protecting intellectual property online, I feel there is a more important need to strike a balance between dissemination of, and access to, information and the protection against its illegal use within the public domain.

The US government is currently reviewing SOPA and PIPA as possible ways to prevent unlawful distribution of copyrighted materials available on the Internet. These current proposals, if passed, would allow for significant intrusions and interventions into the technological and economical basis of the Internet. This could put the broad-based benefits and economic opportunities of completely legal and legitimate e-business models at risk. Companies like Amherst Partners that offer technological services should not be forced to be required to be the policing authority in such matters. If I were to act upon every suspicion of content infringement without any judicial research into the actual usage of my clients, the integrity behind my client's freedom of information and speech would be enormously harmed. The overhead required to implement such measures would greatly impact my ability to continue to offer the services I offer at a reasonable price.

I encourage every Internet user concerned about these plans to contribute to the debate and to raise their voice with their local representatives in the House or Senate. One way to express your concerns could be to use one of the websites that have recently emerged to protect user interests in the current legislative debate. (http://fightforthefuture.org)

At Amherst Partners we support you, our customer, and an open Internet. If you find that you are currently associated with a company that encourages SOPA and wish to drop them as a provider, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss our services and the process of switching domain name registration and hosting providers with you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Best regards,

Mike Ronayne
Owner & Principal Partner
Amherst Partners, LLC

Last Updated on Thursday, 29 December 2011 09:42