FollowUp 2: SOPA Overreach

Great news.  SOPA and Protect IP (PIPA) are on hold.  Here's Ars Technica on PIPA in the Senate.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) is putting the PROTECT IP Act on hold. "In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday's vote on the PROTECT IP Act," he said in a tweet.

"There's no reason that legitimate issues raised about PROTECT IP can't be resolved," he said. "Counterfeiting & piracy cost 1000s of jobs yearly."

"Americans rightfully expect to be fairly compensated 4 their work. I'm optimistic that we can reach compromise on PROTECT IP in coming weeks," he concluded.

PIPA isn't dead, but the move certainly makes passage less likely. With momentum stalled, Senators skittish about angering voters, and Republican leaders blasting the bill, Reid may find it expedient to postpone the vote on PIPA indefinitely.

Similarly, everything is on hold for SOPA in the House of Representatives, from PC World.

Meanwhile, in Congress, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) announced that consideration of SOPA is on hold indefinitely. A hearing on the bill in the Judiciary Committee had been scheduled to resume in February.

“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy,” Smith says 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.”

This does not mean that these pieces of legislation which would end much of fair use on the Internet are dead and buried.  We can expect either the same bills with a little bit of modification or similar legislation in the future, probably before this session of Congress ends.

22 November 2011, Original Pedantic Political Ponderings post.

18 December 2011, FollowUp 1.

21 January 2012, FollowUp 3.