Gone, Daddy, Gone

Okay, so the internet isn’t a free zone. You certainly have to pay for access. It takes millions of dollars to start up a website like The Huffington Post and pressure has put constraints on what Craigslist can list and who can use PayPal. Still, there’s been nothing so far like the legislation currently being proposed in the misguided Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. Congress. It’s another power grab by corporations and their government.

Gizmodo has a list of companies supporting SOPA.

Ars Technica lays down a lucid argument against SOPA:

Imagine a world in which any intellectual property holder can, without ever appearing before a judge or setting foot in a courtroom, shut down any website’s online advertising programs and block access to credit card payments. The credit card processors and the advertising networks would be required to take quick action against the named website; only the filing of a “counter notification” by the website could get service restored.

Go Daddy has backed down from its public support after tens of thousands switched their domain registration away from Go Daddy, but the climbdown is quite tepid. According to CNet, GoDaddy is now proclaiming bold neutrality.

“Go Daddy will support it when and if the Internet community supports it,” Go Daddy CEO Warren Adelman announced in a statement.

If you’re with Go Daddy and would like to be gone, daddy, gone, MacWorld explains how to transfer your domain name.

UPDATE on 5/26: Name Cheap accuses Go Daddy of making it deliberately difficult for customers to transfer their domains.