While the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) are not dead, opponents of the proposed legislations have reason to celebrate today. After a huge number of websites protested with blackouts on Wednesday, several elected officials withdrew their support for the controversial bills.
Discussion on SOPA had been shelved until next month but earlier today the bills champion Lamar Smith (R-Texas) announced that he would stop work on the bill until there was a wider agreement on how best to handle battling online piracy.
"I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy," Smith said in a statement. "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.
SOPAs partner bill, PIPA, has also been shelved for the time being. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) was pushing for the bill to be fast-tracked for a vote on Tuesday, but following this weeks online protest that included sites such as Wikipedia, Reddit and a large number of others, at least 19 Senators yanked the drag chute and withdrew their support. Reid earlier today announced that he would postpone Tuesdays vote on PIPA .
Let that be one lesson, protesting does work. And few things can make a fuss as loud as a united Internet community.
Sources:
The Huffington Post via GamePolitics
SiliconRepublic via GamePolitics
Ars Technica
Reuters
