Rackspace, DreamHost Lead Hosting Provider Charge Against SOPA

If you’re the kind of person reading TalkinCloud the day before New Year’s Eve, you’re probably already aware of the impending vote on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which empowers the entertainment industry to shut down any site that contains a violation of intellectual property, including any sites unfortunate enough to link to it. Citing a tremendous capability for harm to their businesses, Rackspace, DreamHost and a coalition of smaller hosted service providers have taken up the cause of fighting SOPA.

DreamHost’s opposition to SOPA has been on the record since November 2011, when the proposed legislation first became public knowledge.

But Dec. 29, in reaction to the headline-grabbing backlash against rival GoDaddy for its initial support for SOPA and its half-hearted, half-truthful retraction thereof, DreamHost reiterated its stance on the act and launched a special promotion designed to grab switchers. The coupon code “SOPAROPA” will grab new customers $50 off a pre-paid year of hosting, along with four free domain registrations.

Meanwhile, DreamHost’s competition at Rackspace publicized its own harsh criticisms of SOPA and its attendant PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in a Christmas Eve blog entry by CEO Lanham Napier (emphasis his):

Rackspace goes on to say it’s been working with Congress to amend the bill and form a version that’s not nearly as reviled by anyone actually in the web services business. If you have any thoughts one way or the other, Napier is welcoming input via e-mail.

Finally, the Save Hosting Coalition, an alliance of self-described small and midsize service providers, has taken up arms against SOPA and PIPA, with plenty of rhetoric and invective to act. The nascent Coalition said on its site it’s not ready to announce membership, a charter, or similar, but that they’re working on it, and aim to stand against any legislative harm to the hosted services industry.

TalkinCloud isn’t much for taking political stands. But it’s hard to see how a piece of legislation that allows for the shutdown of any service at any time for essentially any reason without due process can do anything but hurt the hosting industry. Stay tuned in 2012 for updates.