Anti-Piracy Fight Losing Some GOP Support
Two Republican senators have reversed course.
Two prominent Republican lawmakers have changed their position in the protracted battle over Web piracy.
Senators Mark Rubio (Florida) and John Cornyn (Texas) made the announcements Wednesday—the day of an Internet blackout effort led by Reddit, Wikipedia, and Google against the legislation.
Congress is currently considering two bills, the Stop Online Privacy Act and the Protect IP Act, that both face the same criticism: They have the potential to foster Internet censorship.
Cornyn announced his change of heart on his Facebook page:
“SOPA: better to get this done right rather than fast and wrong. Stealing content is theft, plain and simple, but concerns about unintended damage to the internet and innovation in the tech sector require a more thoughtful balance, which will take more time.”
Rubio had co-sponored PIPA, but said he has since heard “legitimate concerns about the impact the bill could have on access to the Internet,” according to a post on his Facebook account. “Congress should listen and avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences.”
- Read More: 3 Reasons Why SOPA Should Scare You
Several people were set to testify before Congress Wednesday about whether SOPA would damage the Internet and promote censorship. Among them was Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, whose site started the blackout campaign.
Over the weekend, President Obama said he would veto any legislation that would censor the Web–making it unlikely that either SOPA or PIPA would pass in their current forms. —Abram Brown
