SOPA/PIPA acts on postponed, A small victory achieved but war is not over for free Internet

According the statement released by Lamer Smith about his proposed SOPA bill:-

“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. 

“The problem of online piracy is too big to ignore. American intellectual property industries provide 19 million high-paying jobs and account for more than 60 percent of U.S. exports. The theft of America’s intellectual property costs the U.S. economy more than $100 billion annually and results in the loss of thousands of American jobs.  Congress cannot stand by and do nothing while American innovators and job creators are under attack. 

“The online theft of American intellectual property is no different than the theft of products from a store.  It is illegal and the law should be enforced both in the store and online.

“The Committee will continue work with copyright owners, Internet companies, financial institutions to develop proposals that combat online piracy and protect America’s intellectual property.  We welcome input from all organizations and individuals who have an honest difference of opinion about how best to address this widespread problem.  The Committee remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation.”

The House Judiciary Committee will postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution.

The move comes after widespread protest on the Internet on Wednesday by Wikipedia, Google, Reddit, Facebook and others. The showed their displeasure with the bill by going dark. That day, several Congressmen dropped their support for SOPA and its Senate counterpart, PIPA. The latter bill has also been taken off the table for now.

After the announcements of of bill put put on hold Facebook expressed its relief on its Facebook DC page :-

"We are relieved that Congress has recognized the serious damage the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) could cause to the Internet and are pleased that congressional leaders have decided not to move forward on these bills. We want to thank the millions of Facebook users who shared their views with us, with members of Congress, and with their friends and families on this important issue, and who changed the direction of this harmful legislation. 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."

According to Andrew Bridges, a lawyer at Fenwick and West in San Francisco :-

“If this law was enacted years ago, a guy like Justin Beiber would go to a federal prison for five years because he was singing unauthorized versions of Michael Jackson songs posted on websites around the world,”

Salman Khan of Khan's Academy released a video on YouTube channel to explain ill-effects of SOPA/PIPA acts, you can watch the video below for better understanding :-

For now the supporters of free internet can rejoice as the bill is dead — or at the very least buried, but the war is not over as it may well rise again in another form in a year or so.

Finally, one can assume that SOPA and PIPA are dead, but only in the way a zombie is dead.




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