Two controversial internet legislation pieces were shelved for revision by the Senate and Congress on Fri, Jan.20, issuing a sigh of relief from online freedom activists around the nation. Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas proposed the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) to the House of Representatives and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) to the Senate in October, both of which were intended to stop the illegal pirating and theft of foreign digital and physical merchandise in the U.S.
Courtesy of clipartist.net
While heavily supported by the entertainment industry, the acts were met with a wave of criticism by activists, online business owners, websites and average internet users who took to the web to protest, arguing that the bills would enact harsh censorship and therefore breach their freedoms while hindering their ability to grow and innovate.
On Wed, Jan.18, websites such as Reddit, BoingBoing and Wikipedia English coordinated site blackouts in objection of the bills, while Google posted links to show support to the cause, including one leading to an online petition to Congress with the banner reading “Tell Congress: Please don’t censor the web!”
Google announced on Jan. 19 that their petition had garnered over 7 million signatures, making this the largest online protest to date. Smith, the proposer of the bill accepted temporary defeat by saying: “It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.” While Smith himself may have taken the news gracefully, the entertainment industry is expressing its distress.
Chris Dodd, former senator and current head of the Motion Picture Assn. of America expressed his frustrations in his blog today, saying: “As a consequence of failing to act, there will continue to be a safe haven for foreign thieves; American jobs will continue to be lost; and consumers will continue to be exposed to fraudulent and dangerous products peddled by foreign criminals.”
Sarah Venezio
Features Editor
