So, as you may have heard, GoDaddy took its name off a list of companies that support the Stop Online Piracy Act. But did it actually stop supporting it?
TechCrunch has a pretty revealing interview with new GoDaddy CEO Warren Adelman that basically boils down to “we’re just going to be very, very quiet about this issue and pray to God this revolt doesn’t turn into a mass exodus.” But they’re not actually doing things like “removing their support for the bill from the public record” or “actually really speaking out against it.”
…on the subject of the company’s rather vague promise that “Go Daddy will support it when and if the Internet community supports it,” I said it seemed unlikely that the internet community would ever support a bill of this type, and certainly not SOPA in any shape or form – so the statement is difficult to interpret. Adelman said “There has to be concensus about the leadership of the internet community. It’s a large community and a global one.”
The statements made by GoDaddy and its new CEO are far from strong, but they may solidify with time. “Not supporting” is not the same as opposing, and on an issue like this the internet, by their own admission the source of their reversal, will demand opposition. They can’t avoid the fact that they were a strong, on-the-record supporter of the bill, however, and that may be something of an albatross for them for some time.
Meanwhile, their competitors are accusing them of trying to stall domain transfers while their customer service reps spent Christmas trying to win back irate clients.
It tells you how explosive this has been that making your employees work over the holidays is a step up in the public relations department.