• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

2

'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032

3

Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there

1

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

2

'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032

3

Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there

SOPA supporters are cashing the media’s checks

By
Dan Mitchell
Dan Mitchell
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Dan Mitchell
Dan Mitchell
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 21, 2011, 11:32 AM ET

By Dan Mitchell, contributor

FORTUNE —  The media industry, which wants to see the controversial Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) passed, has showered cash upon sponsors of the bill, far surpassing the amounts given by the Internet and tech companies that oppose the measure.

Proponents of the bill, which critics say would stifle expression and innovation, skirt due process and possibly create massive technical problems for the Internet, have given more than $1.9 million to SOPA’s sponsors since the beginning of the 2010 election season, according to Maplight, a non-profit organization that “reveals money’s influence on politics.” Tech and Internet firms have given just $525,000 during that time.

The stark difference highlights not only Silicon Valley’s relative lack of pull in Washington, but also the vast difference in approaches taken by tech and media when it comes to influencing legislation. Big Media, which has been embedded in national politics since before the silent-film era, relies on old-fashioned high-powered lobbying and money. Silicon Valley often emphasizes grassroots, Internet-based campaigning on behalf of its causes. Hence the loud and ubiquitous online outcry over SOPA, which so far has done little to slow the bill’s progress through the House, though it has led to some amendments designed to appease critics, which include firms such as Google (GOOG), Yahoo (YHOO) and Facebook.

So far, not much has changed. A markup session scheduled for Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee has been postponed, possibly due to scheduling problems related to the continued debate on taxes. The issue will almost certainly blow up again in January.

If the difference between the total political contributions of the two industries appears vast, so are the differences in the cases of many individual House members who have signed on as sponsors of SOPA.

For instance, Republican Lamar Smith of Texas, the Judiciary chairman and lead sponsor of the bill, got $133,050 from the media industry in the two years preceding July 1, according to Maplight. The tech industry has given him $59, 250. His top corporate supporter is Clear Channel Communications, which gave him $26,850. Time Warner Cable (TWC) gave $13,000. (Time Warner owns Fortune.) The National Cable Television Association contributed $16,000. Of his top 10 contributors, four are from the media industry. Smith said recently, “The Stop Online Piracy Act protects the profits, products and jobs that rightly belong to American innovators.” (Is the order of those priorities a coincidence?)

Democrat Howard Berman, whose district encompasses Hollywood, got $328,400 from media, and $102,103 from tech and Internet companies. His top contributor was the Directors Guild of America, which gave him $26,899. Five of Berman’s top 10 contributors belong to the media industry. Two more are law firms — Akin Gump and Ziffren Brittenham — that represent media companies. There is just one tech firm among those 10 — Oracle (ORCL), which gave him $17,700. That’s more than the $16,500 he got from Time Warner (TWX), and less than he got from Disney (DIS), which gave him $24,750.

None of which is to say that SOPA supporters as a group — or even individually — are outright bought and paid for by the media industry. Such an assertion would need to be accompanied by evidence of a quid pro quo, and as usual there is no such evidence in this case.

And not all supporters have enjoyed the same comparative levels of media beneficence as Berman or Smith. Bob Goodlatte, Republican of Virginia, got $73,819 from the tech and Internet industries, while media gave him $64,500. His No. 2 giver was Microsoft (MSFT), coming in after the Farm Credit Bureau. Media interests, either as a group or individually, don’t even show up among the top givers to John Carter, Republican of Texas, or Jim Cooper, Democrat of Tennessee.

Still, in case after case among House sponsors of the bill, media interests do rank at or near the top, while the presence of tech and Internet interests is usually either minimal or non-existent. That, together with Big Media’s lobbying muscle, helps explain why a bill so widely derided for being dangerous actually has a chance of passing at least Judiciary, if not the full House.

About the Author
By Dan Mitchell
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Current price of gold as of June 10, 2026
Personal Financegold prices
Current price of gold as of June 10, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 10, 2026
36 minutes ago
Current price of oil as of June 10, 2026
Personal FinanceOil
Current price of oil as of June 10, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 10, 2026
37 minutes ago
Current price of silver as of Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Personal Financesilver
Current price of silver as of Wednesday, June 10, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 10, 2026
40 minutes ago
Businesswoman working at desk with laptop and documents in office
NewslettersCFO Daily
Finance teams can’t quit Excel. Workday wants to change that with AI
By Sheryl EstradaJune 10, 2026
1 hour ago
goldman
Investingprivate equity
‘The circulatory system isn’t working.’ Goldman on what’s really wrong with private markets
By Nick LichtenbergJune 10, 2026
2 hours ago
Exclusive: Mastercard launches protocol to let AI agents pay each other, send micropayments
BankingMastercard
Exclusive: Mastercard launches protocol to let AI agents pay each other, send micropayments
By Ben WeissJune 10, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
Asia
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
By Kate O'Keeffe and BloombergJune 8, 2026
2 days ago
'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032
Economy
'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032
By Nick LichtenbergJune 9, 2026
21 hours ago
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
Success
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
By Preston ForeJune 8, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 9, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 9, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 9, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 9, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 9, 2026
1 day ago
Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change fake, is now threatening Brazil with tariffs over the deforestation of the Amazon
Environment
Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change fake, is now threatening Brazil with tariffs over the deforestation of the Amazon
By Sasha RogelbergJune 8, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.