Congressman Speaks Out Against SOPA, Knows His League Of Legends

Would you look at that – not all members of Congress are evil wizards who can barely work the internet! U.S. Congressman and League of Legends player Jared Polis has urged online gamers to oppose SOPA.

Polis, who is a gamer himself and even dropped the names of his favourite League of Legends characters, has encouraged other community members to get off their butts and call their own Congresspeople.

“Hi, this is Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado. As a member of the League of Legends community (partial to Anivia and Maokai), and as someone who made his living as an Internet entrepreneur before being elected to Congress, I’m greatly concerned about the future of the Internet and gaming if Congress doesn’t wake up.” Polis posted in the official thread for Riot’s slamming of SOPA.

“You may have heard that Congress is currently considering a bill called the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. While SOPA has a ton of problems, there are some significant issues that I thought fellow gamers might want to know about. I’m particularly concerned that SOPA might stifle the kind of innovation that brings us games we love, such as LoL. The bill makes it far too easy for angry competitors to sue good law abiding companies out of existence.

It threatens any company or website that depends on user-generated content, even companies like Riot. Instead of coming up with great ways to keep making games like LoL even better, companies will have to spend their money hiring lawyers. That’s why companies like Riot, who want to protect the games they create, are opposed to SOPA.

I’ve been working on alternative legislation that would protect the games companies create while also fostering innovation. But we also need you to call your members of Congress and let them know of your opposition to SOPA. This bill has a very real chance of passing, and it is up to all of who want to protect the Internet to take action. More information is available at http://keepthewebopen.com/. Please make your voices heard in this debate! I will be happy to respond to your posts below, and will check back every few hours today and respond to as many as I can.”

Why can’t we have more people in politics like this? Please, call your member of Congress and let them know that you oppose SOPA – your call might be the one to make a difference.

[All Things D]