Congress puts brakes on anti-piracy bills

Harry Reid

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers stopped  anti-piracy legislation in its tracks yesterday, delivering a  stunning win for Internet companies that staged an unprecedented  online protest this week to kill the previously fast-moving  bills.

Harry Reid

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he would postpone a  critical vote that had been scheduled for Jan. 24 “in light of  recent events.”

Lamar Smith, the Republican chairman of the House of  Representatives Judiciary Committee, followed suit, saying his  panel would delay action on similar legislation until there is  wider agreement on the issue.

“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their  concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem  of online piracy. 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,” Smith  said in a statement.

The bills, known as PIPA (PROTECT IP Act) in the Senate and  SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) in the House, are aimed at curbing  access to overseas websites that traffic in pirated content and  counterfeit products, such as movies and music.

The legislation has been a priority for entertainment  companies, publishers, pharmaceutical companies and other  industry groups who say it is critical to curbing online piracy,  which they believe costs them billions of dollars a year.

But technology companies are concerned the laws would  undermine Internet freedoms, be difficult to enforce and  encourage frivolous lawsuits.

Public sentiment on the bills shifted in recent weeks after  Internet players ramped up their lobbying.

White House officials weighed in on Saturday, saying in a  blog post that they had concerns about legislation that could  make businesses on the Internet vulnerable to litigation and  harm legal activity and free speech.

Then on Wednesday, protests blanketed the Internet, turning  Wikipedia and other popular websites dark for 24 hours. Google, Facebook, Twitter and others protested the proposed  legislation but did not shut down.

The protest had quick results: several sponsors of the  legislation, including senators Roy Blunt, Chuck Grassley, Orrin  Hatch, John Boozman and Marco Rubio, have withdrawn their  support.

In a brief statement yesterday, Reid said there was no  reason why concerns about the legislation cannot be resolved. He  offered no new date for the vote.

Reid’s action comes a day after a senior Democratic aide,  speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the measure lacked  the 60 votes needed to clear a procedural hurdle in the  100-member Senate.

SWIFT REACTION

The indefinite postponement of the bills drew quick praise  from the Internet community, and ire from Hollywood.

“We appreciate that lawmakers have listened to our  community’s concerns, and we stand ready to work with them on  solutions to piracy and copyright infringement that will not  chill free expression or threaten the economic growth and  innovation the Internet provides,” a Facebook spokesman said.