I just wrote my congressman regarding SOPA
I am the founder of an internet startup and also a constituent of yours (actually I happen to live in the same building as your office in Brooklyn). This is the first time I've ever written to my congressman, and I'm doing it because I have a very important concern about the SOPA bill that is being debated right now.
I completely understand the frustration that the content industry must have with foreign-based sites allowing US citizens to download illegal content. The foreign sites and registrars are beyond the jurisdiction of the USA. However, this completely does not explain why we must turn due process on its head in SOPA. My suggestion is simple:
Why not invite the foreign site to participate in an arbitration here under US law, and be given a chance to take steps to avoid getting cut off from US search engines, ad networks, and so forth? If they ignore or refuse, then the US attorney general (or the ITC) can take unilateral action, forbidding US businesses to do business with them. But simply giving them (as well as the intermediaries) a chance to participate in a legal process BEFORE taking unilateral action will rectify the most egregious problem that has everyone up in arms. Even criminals in US have the right to a fair trial before being convicted. And under SOPA, a foreign site wrongly cut off will lose an incredible amount of business yet have practically no recourse unless it proves that the other party knowlingly misrepresented the site as "dedicated to the theft of US property" -- something that is practically impossible to do. This lack of due process will encourage frivolous claims under the guise of "oh, it seemed that way at the time."
If a site has a following large enough to matter, it means that it has been growing for a while. The extra month or so to get a hold of who exactly is doing what, and giving them a chance to decide to get on the right side of US law before cutting them off, will not only prevent us from shooting first and missing, but also enable us to discover and better deal with the site and ALL its subsidiaries and connected organizations. The principle is: it takes time to build big operations, take the time to understand what is going on before taking action.
Simply put: by changing one thing in SOPA, it would become much more palatable.
Thank you for your time, and I would really appreciate to know what if anything comes of my email.
Sincerely, Greg Magarshak Qbix, Inc.