Imagine not being able to share a picture you found on the net or not being able to watch a YouTube video.
Congress delayed voting on the Stop Online Piracy Act, which would make websites responsible for copyright infringement by users, but the implications of its possible passing have caused several Ohio University alumni to act now.
Alan Schaaf, a 2010 computer science graduate from OU and the founder of Imgur, recently took a stance against SOPA. Imgur, one of the largest image-hosting sites online, transferred its domains from GoDaddy.com, the popular hosting site, to NameCheap.com because of GoDaddy’s original support of SOPA legislation.
Schaaf founded Imgur in February 2009 with Matthew Strader, another OU alumnus.
SOPA would make it almost impossible for companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Imgur to operate, Schaaf said.
GoDaddy originally released a statement confirming the company’s support for SOPA, saying, “We have always supported both government and private industry efforts to identify and disable all types of illegal activity on the Internet.”
Warren Adelman, the CEO of GoDaddy, recently released a statement reversing GoDaddy’s support for SOPA.
“We have observed a spike in domain name transfers, which are running above normal rates and which we attribute to GoDaddy’s prior support for SOPA, which was reversed,” Adelman said in the statement.
Schaaf said he personally received a phone call from Adelman, who hoped Imgur would retain its GoDaddy domains.
“(GoDaddy) wanted to tell me that they changed their stance on SOPA, which they did, and now they are against SOPA,” Schaaf said. “The whole flip-flop makes me a little uneasy, so we switched over regardless.”
Hugh Sherman, dean of OU’s College of Business, said he understands why Imgur chose to switch over its domains.
“From a business standpoint, it was wise for (Schaaf) to make the move,” Sherman said. “I understand what his company is trying to do, and they are trying to capture the value from their materials.”
Daily, Imgur has about 50 million images uploaded and 200 million views, and the site consumes roughly 30 terabytes of data, Schaaf said.
“It would be horrible if SOPA would pass,” he said. “Websites like Imgur couldn’t exist because we’d be responsible for all user-posted content.”
Schaaf said SOPA could have a huge effect on students as well.
“Just about every student everywhere uses websites like Facebook or Twitter where they can post content; the Internet is built around collaboration, and SOPA just totally kills that,” Schaaf said. “If the government decides they don’t like your site or what’s being posted, they can block it.
“It truly is censorship, and SOPA really is the first government step towards online censorship,” he said.
However, OU students can take action to make sure bills such as SOPA don’t pass, Schaff said.
“If you have domains, move them away from GoDaddy,” Schaaf said. “But the most important thing students can do is to write to their representatives.”
bc822010@ohiou.edu
