Recent reports would suggest that companies like Sony, Nintendo and Electronic Arts have pulled their support of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that's currently passing through congress, in light of recent popular movement against the bill.
Critics—myself included—say that the bill could break the fundamental structure of the Internet in the United States, if not the world over, because of its draconian prohibitions on speech and a variety of technical implementations that would have to be applied to accommodate the bill.
Business Insider correctly reported that the three companies did not appear on the House Judiciary Committee's official list of SOPA supporters (PDF) a fact that would have been evident to anyone who read it even awhile before the report was published.
What the publication failed to note is the lingering presence of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) on the aforementioned list.
Through the ESA lobbying organization, a variety of companies support SOPA. These include the console manufacturers like Nintendo and Sony; numerous game publishers including Take Two Interactive, Ubisoft, and Electronic Arts; as well as independent development studios like Epic Games.
The ESA signed an open letter (PDF) to Congress in September pledging their full support for SOPA, which also urged lawmakers to pass the bill.
The fact remains that no matter what spokespersons for the companies involved tell us, their support for SOPA is as strong as it ever was, and it won't change until the ESA officially withdraws its support for the bill.
