SOPA is Dead — For Now!

Posted on January 20, 2012 by strepdog

Cue the little orange people, the wicked bill aimed to destroy the Internet has died (for the time being)!

Mashable reports that Texas Republican Lamar Smith has pulled the bill “until there is wider agreement on a solution.”

The decision comes just two days after a widespread public boycott of the bill by Wikipedia, Reddit and others made it extremely clear that there was growing disdain for the bill. Several key members of Congress shifted their position on the bill, and it’s counterpart in the Senate, the Protect IP Act is also stalled out due to a lack of support.

What remains clear is that our elected officials do not fully understand how the Internet works, nor do they fully represent the interests of the people who have voted them into office.

SOPA and PIPA both shelved for now. (arstechnica.com)
SOPA Author Attacks Wikipedia, Schedules Debate on Bill (mashable.com)
Rep. Lamar Smith, SOPA Author, Blasts Wikipedia over Blackout (blippitt.com)
Photo Du Jour: Stop SOPA (sfist.com)
The Web Wins: SOPA & PIPA Now Dead in the Water (omgubuntu.co.uk)

PIPA and SOPA Co-Sponsors Abandon Bills

Posted on January 19, 2012 by strepdog

PIPA and SOPA co-sponsors are abandoning the bill like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

I’m still confident that the majority of lawmakers have no idea what the bills would actually do, they just know their constituents are not happy with their support of both bills.

According to Fight for the Future (an online petition site leading the charge against SOPA/PIPA), as of Wednesday night, there are now 35 Senators publicly opposing PIPA. Last week there were 5. And it just takes just 41 solid “no” votes to permanently stall PIPA (and SOPA) in the Senate.

Mashable has the full write-up here.

If you have not yet contacted your federal lawmakers, please do so, here

Also, you should sign the petition at Fight for the Future