This is a pretty telling description of why PIPA/SOPA was going so smoothly through Congress. West-coast tech companies don’t really pay much attention to east-coast politics … unless it starts meddling in their business. I could understand their initial reaction — when I read these bills, I thought they’d be dead in the water because of how ridiculous they were. I was sure a member of Congress would consult an expert (or “nerd” as Congress seems to call them when they specialize in technology) to get their take on this before putting momentum behind it. Apparently not. Rather, the people pushing this in Congress were about as knowledgeable as many Luddite friends on this issue — “Sure! It sounds like a great asset for law enforcement.” Many couldn’t see right through the lobbying.
Silicon Valley vs. Hollywood Lobbying
