You will notice I have skirted the topic of SOPA and have mostly remained mute on the subject. But that time has passed and I will now be reporting as things develop on this important piece of so called legislation.
Saturday may have brought some good news for opponents of the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, another bit of in-process legislation intended for use as a weapon against cyber-criminals. The official online voice of the White House ran a lengthy blog post detailing “what the Administration will support—and what we will not support” if or when bills like SOPA and PIPA pass through Congress and land on President desk.
The blog, penned by intellectual property enforcement coordinator Victoria Espinel, U.S. chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra and National Security Staff cybersecurity coordinator Howard Schmidt, clearly states at the outset that the White House “will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.” There’s no outright statement that SOPA will not be signed into law in its current form, but it’s strongly implied in the content.
The blog post urges critics and lawmakers on all sides to come together in reasonable discussion, insisting that online piracy is a real issue which must be addressed. “why the Administration calls on all sides to work together to pass sound legislation this year that provides prosecutors and rights holders new legal tools to combat online piracy originating beyond U.S. borders while staying true to the principles outlined above in this response,” the blog post states. “We should never let criminals hide behind a hollow embrace of legitimate American values.”
The Hill is also reporting that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor won’t vote on SOPA specifically until a consensus has been reached. A statement from House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa reads, “While I remain concerned about Senate action on the Protect IP Act, I am confident that flawed legislation will not be taken up by this House. Majority Leader Cantor has assured me that we will continue to work to address outstanding concerns and work to build consensus prior to any anti-piracy legislation coming before the House for a vote.”
This past week several Internet companies announced they would join a collective web “blackout,” or site shut-down on Jan. 18 to protest SOPA, with Wikipedia joining in the fight. A number of top tech executives have openly criticized SOPA, including Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Google’s Sergey Brin, and Elon Musk, founder of Paypal and Tesla Motors, just to name a few.
I will be doing follow up piece on PIPA sometime later today, with some included video.
