Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, Trent Reznor, And Other Creators Release Open Letter To Washington On SOPA

[Mark Seifert]

Neil Gaiman and a group of several other artists and creators have just released the following open letter to Washington regarding SOPA:

We, the undersigned, are musicians, actors, directors, authors, and producers. We make our livelihoods with the artistic works we create. We are also Internet users.

We are writing to express our serious concerns regarding the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)</p>As creative professionals, we experience copyright infringement on a very personal level. Commercial piracy is deeply unfair and pervasive leaks of unreleased films and music regularly interfere with the integrity of our creations. We are grateful for the measures policymakers have enacted to protect our works.

We, along with the rest of society, have benefited immensely from a free and open Internet. It allows us to connect with our fans and reach new audiences. Using social media services like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, we can communicate directly with millions of fans and interact with them in ways that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.

We fear that the broad new enforcement powers provided under SOPA and PIPA could be easily abused against legitimate services like those upon which we depend. These bills would allow entire websites to be blocked without due process, causing collateral damage to the legitimate users of the same services - artists and creators like us who would be censored as a result.

We are deeply concerned that PIPA and SOPA's impact on piracy will be negligible compared to the potential damage that would be caused to legitimate Internet services. Online piracy is harmful and it needs to be addressed, but not at the expense of censoring creativity, stifling innovation or preventing the creation of new, lawful digital distribution methods.

We urge Congress to exercise extreme caution and ensure that the free and open Internet, upon which so many artists rely to promote and distribute their work, does not become collateral damage in the process.

Respectfully,



Aziz Ansari

Kevin Devine, Musician

Barry Eisler, Author

Neil Gaiman, Author

Lloyd Kaufman, Filmmaker

Zo? Keating, Musician

The Lonely Island

Daniel Lorca, Musician (Nada Surf)

Erin McKeown, Musician

MGMT

Samantha Murphy, Musician

OK Go

Amanda Palmer, Musician (The Dresden Dolls)

Quiet Company

Trent Reznor

Adam Savage, Special Effects Artist (MythBusters)

Hank Shocklee, Music Producer (Public Enemy, The Bomb Squad)

Johnny Stimson, Musician

[Blackfist]

Do go against the words of the prophet Neil Gaiman is Heresy!!

[Peter David]

A fair and balanced letter...and not in a Fox News way.

PAD

[thekeith82]

The sentiment is appreciated, but they couldn't have got more people to undersign it? A letter from a dozen mid to high level people in entertainment is nice, but a letter from 200 would be better. Surely between them these guys have enough contacts to make it happen? Still, everything counts, so I'm glad it exists even if it had just come from Gaiman and nobody else.

[Meyeraustin]

A fair and balanced letter...and not in a Fox News way.

PAD

Lame Zing towards Fox News #753974368-C

[Comedian]

This letter makes me happy just seeing Neil Gaiman and Lloyd Kaufman together. I'm still waiting for that Troma adaptation of "Murder Mysteries."

[ahlhelm]

A fascinating list of celebrities there. Would be nice to see a ton more stars on it, but every voice against this idiocy is a good one.

[EmperorCheese]

A fair and balanced letter...and not in a Fox News way.

On an issue which you'd find support on the left and the right, you offer... that.
But you have provided a nice example of a political cheap shot that has caused me to drop books.
Note, I have no problem with narrative that stems from either political wing; whereas petty one liners do affect my enjoyment of said material.
I'm not a fan of Fox News, and quite honestly all American news channels suck, but this type of comment is something I'd expect from banal internet knuckleheads, not from an accomplished writer.

[Mad_Man_Moon]

A fair and balanced letter...and not in a Fox News way.

PAD

Peter! Tsk!
Why aren't you toeing the company line?

[Mad_Man_Moon]

On an issue which you'd find support on the left and the right, you offer... that.
But you have provided a nice example of a political cheap shot that has caused me to drop books.
Note, I have no problem with narrative that stems from either political wing; whereas petty one liners do affect my enjoyment of said material.
I'm not a fan of Fox News, and quite honestly all American news channels suck, but this type of comment is something I'd expect from banal internet knuckleheads, not from an accomplished writer.

Crikey, mate ... Everything ok over there?