This Wednesday, Firefall and Red 5 Studios will join with other internet properties such as Reddit and Destructoid by shutting down all online services in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act that are currently being debated in the United States Senate and Congress.
While Red 5 stands behind property owners protecting their rights and stopping piracy, we feel that these two proposals will destroy the freedoms and rights of the Internet community. No corporate entity should be allowed to shut down any site without due process. The blackout of the Firefall website, the Red 5 Studios website, and the Firefall beta is our way of showing what the Internet could be if these bills are allowed to pass.
We have also decided to cancel our presence at E3 in Los Angeles due to the support these bills have through the Entertainment Software Association that supposedly represents game developers in government. The ESA chose to support the destruction of our rights, therefore we choose to not support them at their conventions.
Please take time to contact your representatives in Congress and the Senate to let them know how you feel about SOPA and PIPA. You can do so through the Electronic Frontier Foundation website at https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173
