Riot Games has joined the growing number of developers speaking out against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) legislations under consideration by congress. In a detailed statement to the League of Legends website, Riot Games called on League of Legends players to write their congressman to oppose the bills. The message also contained a list of how SOPA and PIPA could impact League of Legends players. (See below)

How would SOPA/PIPA impact League of Legends players?

• Kills streaming. If any single streamer plays copyrighted music (or alt tabs into a movie or other owned content) on their stream, there is a significant risk of the entire streaming service being taken down. In some cases, it could even result in criminal penalties for the streamer.
• Threatens independent content creation. Services we all use to create and share League of Legends related content, such as YouTube, Reddit, DeviantArt, streaming websites such as Own3d and Twitch, and more would be at risk of shutting down or greatly restricting the scope of legitimate content allowed on their sites.
• Attacks our community. Aspects of our service such as the official forums and potentially even in-game chat, could be taken down or have their features reduced based on user behavior.
• Other harmful effects. SOPA/PIPA undermine established intellectual property legislation like the DMCA, raise serious constitutional free speech issues, and could even compromise the basic security infrastructure of the internet.

A Riot Games attorney also recently held an “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit about SOPA and PIPA.

In addition to Riot Game’s recent message, Reddit is also holding a service blackout on January 18th in opposition of the legislation in an effort to raise awareness of how the legislation could potentially impact a number of websites. In its place, users will be greeted with a message about the potential impacts of the two pieces of legislation.

Sources:

League of Legends website

Reddit AMA League of Legends Legal Council

Reddit SOPA/PIPA Blackout Announcement via GamePolitics