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Epic Games stands against SOPA

Gears of War, Unreal Engine maker says it does not support the present form of controversial Stop Online Piracy Act.

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Earlier this week, the Entertainment Software Association proclaimed its support for the Stop Online Piracy Act, a piece of legislation that has created much controversy as of late. Today, one of the ESA's members--Epic Games--has made it clear it does not endorse the current version of SOPA.

Gears of War studio Epic Games isn't a SOPA supporter.
Gears of War studio Epic Games isn't a SOPA supporter.

Writing on the official Epic Games forums, senior PR manager Dana Cowley explained the studio's stance on SOPA in a terse statement.

"Epic Games supports efforts that would stop overseas websites profiting from pirating our games, but we have to do that in a way that's compatible with freedom of speech and due process of law. Thus, we do not support the current version of SOPA."

Companies that support the bill--including the Motion Picture Association of America and National Football League--argue that it offers necessary protection to content creators. Opponents of the bill, such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, argue that SOPA infringes upon First Amendment rights and will ultimately deprive the Internet of non-infringing content.

SOPA is also supported by a number of major media corporations, including GameSpot parent company CBS. For more information, check out GameSpot's analysis of the bill.

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