Following protests in the United States, current discussions in Congress on
the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) have been
postponed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively.
The current drafts of the bipartisan anti-online piracy legislation aim to
crack down on rogue websites dedicated to providing access to unauthorized downloads,
streaming or sale of copyrighted content and counterfeit goods, ranging from
new entertainment releases to pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Those websites
are often foreign-owned and operated, and therefore outside of American jurisdiction.
Supporters of the parallel bills include television networks, music publishers,
the film industry and book publishers, but opposition from within the internet
sector has been growing since they were first drafted.
The legislation would provide the US Department of Justice with an expedited
process for cracking down on websites accused of "enabling or facilitating"
piracy. There would be an authorization for the serving of an issued court order
on search engines, payment processors, advertising networks and internet service
providers.
Within the bills, remedies would be limited to eliminating the financial viability
of the site. However, although a previous stipulation in the proposed legislation
that access to the websites should be blocked by using the Domain Name System
has been deleted, internet companies still fear that they would be forced to
police web content.
There have therefore been comments that the bill's sponsors have not understood
the internet's architecture or comprehended the bills’ real implications.
In a statement, Google said that it opposed the bills that asked “American
companies to censor the internet”, while a statement from Wikipedia expressed
the opinion that the bills, if passed, “would be devastating to the free
and open web”.
Following such opposition, the House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith
(R-Texas) has now confirmed that the Committee would postpone consideration
of the SOPA, until there is wider agreement on a solution.
“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding
proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy,” he said.
However, he also added that “the problem of online piracy is too big to
ignore”, and that, given “theft of America’s intellectual
property costs the US economy more than USD100bn annually … Congress cannot
stand by and do nothing.”
He confirmed that “the Committee will continue work with copyright owners,
internet companies and financial institutions to develop proposals that combat
online piracy and protect America’s intellectual property. We welcome
input from all organizations and individuals who have an honest difference of
opinion about how best to address this widespread problem.”
In like manner, the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D- Nevada), while disclosing
that he has postponed a vote on the PIPA, said that "there is no reason
that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved.
… We must take action to stop these illegal practices.”
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