OpenCongress Blog

Blog Feed Comments Feed More RSS Feeds

SOPA/PIPA Dead ...For Now.

January 20, 2012 - by Donny Shaw

Following a day of unprecedented online protest, the web censorship bills in Congress, SOPA and PIPA, have officially been tabled. “In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT I.P. Act (PIPA)," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced this morning.

SOPA in the House was put on hold as well. “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,” said Judiciary Committee Chairman and SOPA sponsor Rep. Lamar Smith. The SOPA mark-up was scheduled to resume on Feb. 18th, but it has now officially been postponed indefinitely.

Just weeks ago, these bills were considered virtually untouchable by everyone who follows Congress. The bipartisan support for the bills, both within members of Congress and among special-interest groups, was deeper than just about any other bill proposed this session. The best description of how the game shifted comes from MPAA Chairman (and former senator) Chris Dodd himself:

By Mr. Dodd’s account, no Washington player can safely assume that a well-wired, heavily financed legislative program is safe from a sudden burst of Web-driven populism.

“This is altogether a new effect,” Mr. Dodd said, comparing the online movement to the Arab Spring. He could not remember seeing “an effort that was moving with this degree of support change this dramatically” in the last four decades, he added.

In other words, the political establishment has been forced to recognize that even the best revolving-door connections and the most obscene financial investments in political campaigns do not necessarily top a united public armed with the means to communicate freely and directly on the internet. Until now, this really, truly was not clear as far as it applies to legislative battles in the U.S. Congress.

For sure, Congress and the entertainment industry will bring these bills back to the table again. The entertainment industry desperately wants special rules that allow them to legally censor online speech in order to defend their legacy business model. By all accounts they are more focused and more invested on getting Congress to change the rules than they are on updating their business and improving their content to compete in 2012 and beyond. Don’t expect the threat of SOPA/PIPA-style web censorship to go away any time soon.

The corporations pushing bills like SOPA and PIPA are dead set on limiting the rule of law as it applies to the internet. For the moment, we’ve succesfully defended the rule of law. But to ensure that we win in the future, we need to use this victory as a starting point for a pro-active movement in support of online freedom. The internet is an essential element of the public sphere; we need to consider our values and work to make sure the internet reflects them.

Pictured above is PIPA sponsor Sen. Patrick Leahy [D, VT].

Like this post? Stay in touch by following us on Twitter, joining us on Facebook, or by Subscribing with RSS.
internet Intellectual Property Internet Pat Leahy censorship intellectual property SOPA PIPA
 

Comments

Displaying 61-80 of 80 total comments.

  • moadeep 01/23/2012 6:32am
    Link Reply
    + 1
    ↓

    My question is, how does this affect ACTA? Or does it?

  • mouseissue 01/25/2012 3:40pm
    Link Reply
    + 0
    ↓

    As long as there are corporations out there with deep pockets that give generous campaign contributions, SOPA/PIPA and other similar efforts will continue.

    All we can do is continue to let the politicians know that if they want our votes, don’t step on our toes (i.e. rights & freedoms).

    My bet is, after the November elections, SOPA/PIPA (or similar)will rear it’s ugly head again… Mark my words!

  • herry085 01/31/2012 12:16am
    Link Reply
    + 0
    ↓

    SOPA and PIPA may have been put on hold — thanks to possibly the most contentious uproar seen on Capitol Hill and in the tech world ever — but other legislation was introduced this week to combat online piracy. News At 21th january.

    teak patio furniture

  • Comm_reply
    kerri311i 02/06/2012 10:05pm
    Link Reply
    + 0
    ↓

    This was a great and fun article to read. I have enjoyed this information so much. This was really very cool to read. Los angeles air conditioning repair

  • Comm_reply
    laurie29p 02/13/2012 2:42pm
    Link Reply
    + 0
    ↓

    This was really a great and fun article I really have enjoyed this information so much. This was great. Ceiling Fan

  • Comm_reply
    jacklina 02/26/2012 11:46pm
    Link Reply
    + 0
    ↓

    I was greatly interested with what you have shared and posted with us. Thanks for this anyway.car mats

  • Spam Comment

  • alissacordry 02/03/2012 8:39pm
    Link Reply
    + 0
    ↓

    Cheap Jordans
    Cheap Jordan
    Cheap Retro Jordan
    Cheap Retro Jordans
    Jordans Cheap

  • Comm_reply
    michelle0 02/29/2012 2:47am
    Link Reply
    + 0
    ↓

    Ament suggests that, since the MPAA so clearly seem to hate us, and spend the money we give them to try to force these laws into being, we should stop supporting them with our money.sökmotoroptimering-smotop

  • byanonymous 02/07/2012 5:11am
    Link Reply
    + 0
    ↓

    In other words, the political establishment has been forced to recognize that even the best revolving-door connections and the most obscene financial investments in political campaigns do not necessarily top a united public armed with the means to communicate freely and directly on the internet. Until now, this really, truly was not clear as far as it applies to legislative battles in the U.S. Congress.
    research paper | term paper | essay | dissertation | thesis

  • jacklina 02/25/2012 6:33am
    Link Reply
    + 1
    ↓

    Opponents of the bill, while pleased, are warning against future complacency. Sue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, says in a press release: “The Wikimedia Foundation welcomes these developments.
    ”http://www.powermarketing.net/boise-web-design/">boise web design

  • Spam Comment

  • jacqueah30 05/08/2012 1:35am
    Link Reply
    + 0
    ↓

    FINALLY SOPA and PIPA are GONE!! Check This Out!

  • Spam Comment

  • Spam Comment

  • Spam Comment

  • JohnnyS 12/04/2012 12:20pm
    Link Reply
    + 0
    ↓

    I am so happy that we managed to defend the rules of law!
    Next challenge is to defend: Medical billing and coding professionals.

  • john102 12/18/2012 4:47am
    Link Reply
    + 0
    ↓

    Sorry to say but i supported SOPA and PIPA bills a long time ago.. air conditioning repair tarzana

  • Spam Comment

  • Spam Comment


Get Blog Updates by Email

Delivered by FeedBurner

Demand Question Time!



Find us at

Want a simple way to stay on top of what's happening in Congress?

Subscribe to this blog!

Send Us a Tip

You can submit a tip anonymously, or attributed to your own name and e-mail, whichever you prefer. Read more about submitting a tip.

Submit a tip




Recent Posts

Archives

See All Archives

Blogroll


See our Twitter List

Congress Watchers

OpenCongress is a free and open-source project of the Participatory Politics Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to increase civic engagement. The non-profit Sunlight Foundation is the Founding and Primary Supporter of OpenCongress.