Congress Delays SOPA & PIPA Bills
The Hollywood backed antipiracy bills slowed down on Capitol Hill Friday, as the Senate and House were unable to develop major changes in the bill. This comes after a storm of protests and defection of a number of supporters, making doubtful that the bill would get enough votes to go to the floor.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) made the announcement that the bill would be postponed and issued a statement on behalf of the work made on the bill.
"I admire the work that Chairman Leahy has put into this bill. I encourage him to continue engaging with all stakeholders to forge a balance between protecting Americans' intellectual property, and maintaining openness and innovation on the internet. We made good progress through the discussions we've held in recent days, and I am optimistic that we can reach a compromise in the coming weeks."
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), one of the cheif critics of the legislation in the House, proposed an alternative legislation that would allow content owners to file complaints with the International Trade Commission to take steps to choke off support of sites that traffic in infringing content.
It seems that Leahy was ultimately let down, as he was the most visible champion of the legislation in Congress, who hoped that despite the online protest this week the Senate could have a vigorous floor debate on Tuesday.
