RIOT games/ League of Legends starts STOP SOPA Campaign

na.leagueoflegends.com...

Summoners, We’re not usually inclined to comment on politics. We’re a game company, and making games is just a whole lot more fun. But there is legislation under consideration today by the United States Congress that gives us serious concern. Called the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) in the House of Representatives and the "PROTECT IP Act" (PIPA) in the Senate, these bills are a misguided attempt to curb the illegal piracy of copyrighted content (like movies, music and games). Preventing piracy of copyrighted content is a laudable goal, and Riot supports legitimate efforts to combat these activities and protect content creators (like us).

However, SOPA/PIPA goes far beyond simply addressing piracy. This proposed legislation actually threatens any website that features user-generated content. In effect, any copyright holder could file a claim that a streaming website is hosting unauthorized content (such as a song in the background of a League of Legends stream). Under the law, ad networks, payment providers and internet service providers are now potentially liable for their user’s infringement. These services could then be compelled to immediately remove support for a streaming website or face a costly legal battle – at a minimum cutting off financial means, and likely shutting off the site entirely.

How would SOPA/PIPA impact League of Legends players?

Kills streaming. If any single streamer plays copyrighted music (or alt tabs into a movie or other owned content) on their stream, there is a significant risk of the entire streaming service being taken down. In some cases, it could even result in criminal penalties for the streamer.

Threatens independent content creation. Services we all use to create and share League of Legends related content, such as YouTube, Reddit, DeviantArt, streaming websites such as Own3d and Twitch, and more would be at risk of shutting down or greatly restricting the scope of legitimate content allowed on their sites.

Attacks our community. Aspects of our service such as the official forums and potentially even in-game chat, could be taken down or have their features reduced based on user behavior.

Other harmful effects. SOPA/PIPA undermine established intellectual property legislation like the DMCA, raise serious constitutional free speech issues, and could even compromise the basic security infrastructure of the internet.

This is awesome! Millions of young people and adults play their game. The thread has over 100 pages in replies. I wish more game companies were standing up for our freedom! The game is also completely free.

reply to post by mnmcandiez


That's great RIOT put it up like that. I hope they make it a banner link across all their forums.

A few summoners have tried to bring it up and have not been able to generate any serious interest. Now, maybe they (summoners- mostly kids) might realize..."Hey this could effect me!"

I play League of Legends quite frequently...very fun game.

na.leagueoflegends.com...

wait wait wait....RIOT has their own congressman!? It's the fifth post after Ryzes' post.

Rep Jared Polis ?? United States Congress Today,10:40 AM.

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. 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 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.

Rating (+3070)

LoL has a congressman and that congressman has a summoner. =D Look up Rep Jared Polis on the NA server. It's a summoner level 2. Two normal matches one win, one loss Graves and Kog'maw respectively. xD haha! I wonder if it was really this representative...if it was then it's cool he tried it.

Look at the kda though and cs though xD

Ohohoh! and the 3 Tiamat on Graves. I want to try that now

Never heard of this game but it sounds like something I would of been into years ago.

I play some of these free online games once in a while, and some of them are really addictive and good games, and if the makers actually put the time and effort into making them, I see no reason to hinder them or put penalties on them for doing that.

However I have not read to much into this SOPA thing so cant comment to much on it and it's hooks. But I am sure the nerd community which is pretty huge, would be on it fast if it actually will kill there favorite pastimes. And if not then they should put down those magic the gathering cards for a bit, and at least look at it.

I just have to post to say that I was so excited when I saw this upon logging into the game a few weeks ago. It really surprised me because games tend to be neutral. The awareness being raised by RIOT posting this all over the game home screen is huge. With as many players that game has, it raised a lot of peoples attention to the state of our world.