Controversial online piracy bill gains support

[DeeDee Halleck]

SOPA, controversial online piracy bill, gains support as lobbying
intensifies

 (TRUTH LEEM/REUTERS) - Google, Facebook, Yahoo and other Web giants
launched a media blitz on Wednesday with full-page newspaper ads urging
lawmakers to vote against the proposal.
 By Cecilia Kang<http://www.washingtonpost.com/cecilia-kang/2011/02/28/ABFs9eL_page.html>
, Wednesday, November 16, 7:38 PM

Several lawmakers expressed support Wednesday for a controversial bill
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/house-introduces-internet-piracy-bill/2011/10/26/gIQA0f5xJM_blog.html>aimed
at curbing online piracy as lobbying
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/web-giants-at-odds-with-chamber-of-commerce-over-piracy-bill/2011/11/15/gIQAkY5hPN_story.html>over
the issue reached a fever pitch.

In a House Judiciary Committee hearing on a bill proposed by committee
Chairman Lamar Smith <http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Lamar_Smith> (R-Tex.),
a bipartisan group of lawmakers said new laws are needed to help media
outlets, software makers and retailers fight the illegal distribution of
movies, songs and software.


Smith’s Stop Online Piracy Act is aimed at foreign sites dedicated to
pirated material, but Web giants such as Google and Facebook and
telecommunications firms say his proposal goes too far, making them
responsible for shutting down bad actors.

“The problem of rogue Web sites is real, immediate and widespread. It harms
all sectors of the economy,” Smith said during the hearing.

Several lawmakers expressed concern that the illegal exchange of
copyrighted movies, software and music is draining U.S. media companies and
that current laws don’t give law enforcement enough power to stop bad
actors.

And some questioned the motives of Web giants fighting the legislation.

Opposition is “really about the bottom line,” said Rep. Mel
Watt<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Mel_Watt> (D-N.C.).
“Sites that specialize in stolen goods attract lots of users and lots of
ads.”

Supporters and critics<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/facebook-google-join-to-fight-internet-privacy-legislation/2011/11/15/gIQAELOlON_blog.html>
of
the measure ramped up their lobbying efforts ahead of the hearing.

Google, Facebook, Yahoo and other Web giants launched a media blitz on
Wednesday with full-page newspaper ads urging lawmakers to vote against the
proposal. Vague language in the bill would force them to shut down the
domain names of infringing sites and would lead to lawsuits, they said.
Telecommunications firms, including Verizon Communications, complained that
the bill would force them to stop Internet traffic that contained illegal
content.

Supporters of the legislation, ranging from Hollywood studios to
pharmaceutical companies, argued during the hearing that they are losing an
estimated $135 billion a year in pirated material.

“Fundamentally, this is about jobs,” said Michael O’Leary, who represented
the Motion Picture Association of America at the hearing. He argued that
not just actors and directors are affected; piracy also has a ripple effect
on thousands of businesses that are associated with the movie business.

Smith has said he hopes to move his legislation to markup before the end of
the year. A similar Senate bill passed the Judiciary Committee in September.

The House proposal came about suddenly, critics say, and without
consultation from high-tech and telecommunications firms.

“Inexplicably, and almost overnight, SOPA has morphed into a full-on
assault against lawful U.S. Internet companies,” said Markham C. Erickson,
executive director of NetCoalition, a group representing Web firms and
public interest groups opposed to the law. “This makes no sense to us, nor
will it to the millions of Internet users who depend on it for
communications, commerce and democracy.”

A Verizon executive said in an interview Wednesday that the legislation
puts too much of the burden on Internet service providers to create new
technologies to monitor and stop illegal consumer use of Web content.

“We have a number of concerns with the bill,” said the executive, who spoke
on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the
legislative push. “And we have been shut out of the process in writing
this, even though it is very technical and requires us to use a range of
technically difficult things to enforce this legislation.”
-- 
http://www.deepdishwavesofchange.org
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