Online piracy legislation has caused such an outcry that the White House is now weighing in.
There's no doubt that online piracy bills debated in Congress within the last couple of months -- namely SOPA and PIPA -- have been highly controversial. Now the Obama administration has addressed the contentious issue.
On Saturday, the administration responded to petitions signed by tens of thousands of people opposing the legislation by releasing a statement indicating what it would, and would not support.
"While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet," reads the statement written by the president's chief technology officials.
The bills under consideration in Congress—the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect IP Act in the Senate—were intended to combat the theft of copyrighted materials by preventing search engines from sending users to sites where stolen materials are distributed. They also would allow people and companies to sue to stop what they believed to be theft of protected content. Such provisions have been opposed by free speech advocates who have said the legislation far exceeds its intended scope, and threatens the Constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens...read more
http://trap.it/#!traps/id/f9850dff-efd8-410f-9a9c-43edd8091ccd/articles/64ifsb7ae002q6JFNsPA
There's no doubt that online piracy bills debated in Congress within the last couple of months -- namely SOPA and PIPA -- have been highly controversial. Now the Obama administration has addressed the contentious issue.
On Saturday, the administration responded to petitions signed by tens of thousands of people opposing the legislation by releasing a statement indicating what it would, and would not support.
"While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet," reads the statement written by the president's chief technology officials.
The bills under consideration in Congress—the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect IP Act in the Senate—were intended to combat the theft of copyrighted materials by preventing search engines from sending users to sites where stolen materials are distributed. They also would allow people and companies to sue to stop what they believed to be theft of protected content. Such provisions have been opposed by free speech advocates who have said the legislation far exceeds its intended scope, and threatens the Constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens...read more
http://trap.it/#!traps/id/f9850dff-efd8-410f-9a9c-43edd8091ccd/articles/64ifsb7ae002q6JFNsPA
