Battle Over "Internet Censorship" Bills Heats Up
(Posted Dec 14, 2011 06:40 am)
By Les Coleman
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Is it simply a way to crack down on the pirating of music and movies, or a measure that could lead to online censorship and the end of Internet freedom? SOPA - the Stop Online Piracy Act - and a similar measure in the Senate are raising red flags.
The bill, expected to come to a House vote before the end of the year, is seen by Josh Levy, Internet campaign director for the media reform group Free Press, as an overreaction to copyright infringement which places unnecessary burdens on web sites such as Etsy and YouTube to determine whether they're hosting unauthorized content.
Links of interest:
• In the House: Stop Online Piracy Act:
H.R. 3261
• In the Senate: Protect Internet Privacy Act:
S.968
• Sen Wyden's Bill to amend the Tariff Act:
Go here
•
Free Press - reform media
"It would give people who run Internet web sites very
little time to respond to accusations before their web
sites are actually 'disappeared' from the Internet."
At the core of the dispute over SOPA and its Senate
version known as PIPA - the Protect Internet Privacy Act
- is a clash between First Amendment rights and property
rights, Levy says, with wealthy interests backing the
latter.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., threatens to filibuster if PIPA
and SOPA get enough votes for passage. He has introduced
alternative legislation which would leave enforcement to
the International Trade Commission; he says it narrows
the potential harm of shutting down web sites without
due process.
"I'm not going to support anything that does so much
damage to innovation and the ability of the 'Net to be
there, available to everyone and not just the moneyed
interests who have so much clout already in American
government."
Joined with movie studios and music companies in support
of SOPA are the pharmaceutical industry and the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce. Google, Yahoo! and Twitter are
among companies opposing the measure, which they say
threatens Internet innovation and job creation.