The spirit of the bill is a one that we all can agree with – illegal file sharing of music and other media is, quite frankly, illegal, but how the bill is designed puts far too much power in to the hands of the Attorney General and thereby bypasses due process. Websites themselves do not have to be engaging in or promoting illicit file sharing, they only have to have links to other sites which do. And the Attorney General would be able to shut a website down by obtaining a court order that forces the Internet Service Providers to pull the plug.
Opponents of the bill say that it violates the First Amendment and doesn’t allow for freedom of speech. Proponents say that the Internet is not being censored but that it needs protection from theft online. Both arguments sound strikingly similar to the arguments here in the UK over the Digital Economy Act (DEA). Both the DEA and COICA place undue burdens on Internet Service Providers to act on behalf of media companies and rights holders to and shut down websites or block illicit file sharers themselves. And Both the DEA and COICA are backed by music companies who, in particular, would rather litigate than innovate in the face of new and changing technology.
This bill still has to be passed by the House and Senate to become law. This bill is unlikely to be presented until next year when a Republican majority will likely prevent its passage.
By Dominique Lazanski
