Responding to an incredible amount of protests, Congress has indefinitely postponed the SOPA and PIPA legislation. The anti-piracy bills have cause much controversy recently, leading to the shutting down of MegaUpload and posing great threat to online music sharing. Among the protestors were Google, Wikipedia, and the many artists that joined together to write letter to Congress.
As websites like Wikipedia shut down their sites in protest, American civilians protested in the streets of New York, San Fransisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. At the same time, Google formed an online petition that earned over 7 million signatures.
Because of these protests, the Senate has postponed their vote on the Protect IP Act, and the House of Representatives is holding off on their version of the bill, Stop Online Piracy Act. Both bills were meant to limit copyright infringement by limiting access to certain websites.
While SOPA and PIPA seem to be off the table, new initiations have taken their place. OPEN, or Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act, has been suggested by a group of senators, and while it differs slightly from SOPA and PIPA, it still seeks to regulate access to certain sites. But at least for now, we can relax a bit, knowing that SOPA and PIPA seem to be done with.
Leave a Comment