I noticed both Visa and MasterCard Worldwide support SOPA, but AMEX has announced its opposition to the bill. While I think most people here agree the bill is a terrible piece of legislature, why do you think Visa and MasterCard support, but AMEX opposes it?
Pure speculation:<p>AmEx probably sees that SOPA will be bad for the economy. A bad economy means less profits.<p>Visa and MasterCard... maybe, just maybe, they understand that Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency might succeed in the future, and SOPA might help them acuse Bitcoin websites of "counterfeiting" money.
Companies <i>really</i> like things that limit their liability. SOPA/PIPA is one of the largest, federally-mandated wavers of liability we're likely to see in the next little bit.<p>These companies want to process payments and collect their fees. The transactions in question are minuscule compared to their overall market. Someone comes along and tells them: Just do it this way, and you'll never end up in court. What do you think they are going to do/support?<p>(Plus, they / senior management are "in bed with" and/or effectively the same as senior management of many of the other SOPA/PIPA supporters.)