1 and 1, one of the largest hosting companies in the world, and a domain name registrar, this morning sent an email to it current customers telling them why they oppose both the Protect-IP (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and why customers should join the fight against the current bills.

Its a much different tactic taken than other registrars that have taken Godaddy former support of the bills to encourage Godaddy customers to transfer domains out with discount codes.

This email was sent to current customers of 1 and 1 and its call to action message isn’t about getting any new business but to get customers to support organizations like fightforthefuture.org that has “emerged to protect user interests in the current legislative debate”

Here is the letter that was sent out in full and unedited.

Thanks to Danny for the tip.

“””””

Dear Sir/Miss,

You may have heard about Protect-IP (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act

(SOPA) currently under consideration in Congress. If passed, among other

things, SOPA requires Web hosting companies like 1&1 to police websites in

order to prevent them from communicating copyrighted information on the

internet. We would like to make sure you are aware of 1&1’s official

position on SOPA.

As a global provider of domains and hosting services, we oppose the Stop

Online Piracy Act (SOPA) or Protect-IP (PIPA) Acts currently under

consideration. While we observe the concerns of those who are troubled by

the potential impact on protecting intellectual property online, 1&1 feels

there is an urgent need to strike a balance between dissemination of and

access to information and protection against its illegal use within the

public domain.

The US government is currently reviewing SOPA and PIPA as possible ways to

prevent unlawful distribution of copyrighted materials available on the

internet. These current proposals, if passed, would allow for significant

interventions into the technological and economical basis of the internet.

This could put the vast benefits and economic opportunities of entirely

legal and legitimate e-business models at risk. Generally, companies

offering technological services should not be forced to be the executor of

authority in such matters. If they were to act upon every implication of

content infringement without any judicial research into the actual usage of

its customers, the integrity behind their customer’s freedom of

information and speech would be enormously harmed.

1&1 Internet, Inc. has worked through associations and with related

companies to ensure that these aspects are taken into account. Thus, we

welcome the serious consideration by the US Congress of the potential

harmful effects on Internet freedom should SOPA and / or PIPA be passed as

law, and hope the stability of the Internet’s domain name system (DNS)

remains intact.

We encourage every Internet user concerned about these plans to contribute

to the debate and to raise their voice with their local representatives in

the House or Senate. One way to express your concerns could be to use one

of the websites that emerged to protect user interests in the current

legislative debate, such as http://fightforthefuture.org/.

At 1&1 we support you, our customer, and an open internet. If you find that

you are supporting a company that encourages SOPA and wish to drop them as

a provider, please follow the simple instructions contained on the website

linked below.

Thank you for being one of our extremely valued customers, and for taking

the time to read this.

Best regards,

Frederick Iwans

General Manager 1&1 Internet Inc.

“”””