Monday, January 16, 2012

SOPA shelved...but don't let your guard down

From LIS News:
SOPA shelved until consensus is found:

Controversial online piracy bill shelved until 'consensus' is found

House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said early Saturday morning that Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) promised him the House will not vote on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) unless there is consensus on the bill.

"While I remain concerned about Senate action on the Protect IP Act, I am confident that flawed legislation will not be taken up by this House," Issa said in a statement. "Majority Leader Cantor has assured me that we will continue to work to address outstanding concerns and work to build consensus prior to any anti-piracy legislation coming before the House for a vote."

While I'm glad that this step has been taken, it is not a true success. The fact that it is being "shelved" until "consensus is found" is very worrying to me. I envision this "consensus" being "found" in back rooms or buried as provisions in other bills, passed unwittingly or along with "must-pass" legislation.

SOPA is down, but it is not out, we need to continue our collaboration with the Internet industry to keep the pressure against it up.

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