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IOW, it happened to be one of the few cases where the White House's intentions were already aligned with the public's wishes.
by thaumaturgy 12y ago
IOW, it happened to be one of the few cases where the White House's intentions were already aligned with the public's wishes.
- snowwrestler 12y agoYes, I agree that the SOPA petition did not change the White House's mind on DNS. But it did provide a good PR hook for them to put a stake in the ground, and clothe it in the veneer of public support. It's probably best to think of the petitions as a PR tool, not a policy tool. Getting a petition over the signature threshhold, or getting a response, is a great news hook that activists can use to generate press coverage of their issue. For example: this discussion would not be happening today if this response had not been issued. It's also possible that a petition can help affect policy over a long term. In general, people outside of government greatly underestimate just how long it takes to go from an idea or complaint, to a policy shift, to a change in the law. It's not uncommon for it to take a decade or more. For example Silent Spring was published in 1962, but DDT was not banned in the U.S. until 1972.