News of science:US Senate leaders announced Friday they were delaying next week's vote on an anti-online piracy bill that Wikipedia, Google and other Web giants have denounced as a threat to Internet freedom.
"In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday's vote on the Protect IP Act," US Senate majority leader Harry Reid said in a statement two days after a wave of online protests against the bill swept the Internet.
"There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved," Reid said. "I am optimistic that we can reach a compromise in the coming weeks."
Reid's announcement came amid eroding congressional support for the bills -- the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House of Representatives -- intended to crack down on online piracy of movies and music and the sale of counterfeit goods.
Republican House speaker John Boehner said Wednesday there was a "lack of consensus at this point" on the House version of the bill and it would need further work in committee.
Wikipedia shut down the English-language version of its online encyclopedia for 24 hours on Wednesday to protest the legislation.
Google blotted out the logo on its US home page with a black banner and published an exhortation to users to "Tell Congress: Please don't censor the Web!"
Hundreds of other websites joined in the protest and Google said more than seven million people in the United States had signed an online petition against the bills.
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On Thursday, US authorities shut down Megaupload.com, one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, and charged seven people in what they called one of "the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States."
The shutdown of Megaupload triggered a wave of retaliatory attacks by the online hacktivist group Anonymous, which temporarily disabled the websites of the Justice Department, FBI and Recording Industry Association of America.
In his statement, Reid said "counterfeiting and piracy cost the American economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year, with the movie industry alone supporting over 2.2 million jobs.
"We must take action to stop these illegal practices," he said. "We live in a country where people rightfully expect to be fairly compensated for a day's work."
Reid urged a co-sponsor of the bill, Senator Patrick Leahy, to "continue engaging with all stakeholders to forge a balance between protecting Americans' intellectual property, and maintaining openness and innovation on the Internet."
Another co-sponsor of the Protect IP Act, Senator Marco Rubio, withdrew his support for the bill on Wednesday saying Congress should "avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences" on the Internet.
Other lawmakers also distanced themselves from the legislation, including influential Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah.
"After listening to concerns on both sides of the debate over #PIPA, it is simply not ready for prime time," Hatch said on Twitter.
The controversy has pitted Hollywood against Silicon Valley, forcing members of Congress to try to walk a fine line between two powerful forces, and led to an unprecedented outpouring of coordinated protest on the Web.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that the problem of online piracy needs to be tackled but "in a way which does not impinge upon a free and open Internet."
News source:physorg
"In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday's vote on the Protect IP Act," US Senate majority leader Harry Reid said in a statement two days after a wave of online protests against the bill swept the Internet.
"There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved," Reid said. "I am optimistic that we can reach a compromise in the coming weeks."
Reid's announcement came amid eroding congressional support for the bills -- the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House of Representatives -- intended to crack down on online piracy of movies and music and the sale of counterfeit goods.
Republican House speaker John Boehner said Wednesday there was a "lack of consensus at this point" on the House version of the bill and it would need further work in committee.
Wikipedia shut down the English-language version of its online encyclopedia for 24 hours on Wednesday to protest the legislation.
Google blotted out the logo on its US home page with a black banner and published an exhortation to users to "Tell Congress: Please don't censor the Web!"
Hundreds of other websites joined in the protest and Google said more than seven million people in the United States had signed an online petition against the bills.
Enlarge
Protesters demonstrate against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) in New York City on January 18. US Senate majority leader Harry Reid said Friday that he was delaying next week's scheduled vote on a controversial bill aimed at cracking down on online piracy.
The draft legislation has won the backing of Hollywood, the music industry, entertainment giants like Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., the National Association of Manufacturers, the US Chamber of Commerce and others. But the bills have come under fire from online companies and digital rights groups for allegedly paving the way for US authorities to shut down websites accused of online piracy, including foreign sites, without due process.On Thursday, US authorities shut down Megaupload.com, one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, and charged seven people in what they called one of "the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States."
The shutdown of Megaupload triggered a wave of retaliatory attacks by the online hacktivist group Anonymous, which temporarily disabled the websites of the Justice Department, FBI and Recording Industry Association of America.
In his statement, Reid said "counterfeiting and piracy cost the American economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year, with the movie industry alone supporting over 2.2 million jobs.
"We must take action to stop these illegal practices," he said. "We live in a country where people rightfully expect to be fairly compensated for a day's work."
Reid urged a co-sponsor of the bill, Senator Patrick Leahy, to "continue engaging with all stakeholders to forge a balance between protecting Americans' intellectual property, and maintaining openness and innovation on the Internet."
Another co-sponsor of the Protect IP Act, Senator Marco Rubio, withdrew his support for the bill on Wednesday saying Congress should "avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences" on the Internet.
Other lawmakers also distanced themselves from the legislation, including influential Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah.
"After listening to concerns on both sides of the debate over #PIPA, it is simply not ready for prime time," Hatch said on Twitter.
The controversy has pitted Hollywood against Silicon Valley, forcing members of Congress to try to walk a fine line between two powerful forces, and led to an unprecedented outpouring of coordinated protest on the Web.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that the problem of online piracy needs to be tackled but "in a way which does not impinge upon a free and open Internet."
News source:physorg
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