Controversial online piracy bill gains support

[Carlos A. Afonso]

Consequences: additional stimulus for the creation of alternate roots,
seeking national TLDs instead of US-controlled gTLDs, running away from
US-based datacenters, and, for the countries which can, diversion of
traffic which currently transits through the USA.

IMHO

--c.a.

On 11/17/2011 11:57 AM, DeeDee Halleck wrote:
> 
>   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
> 
>