Online Piracy Act

Yesterday's anti-SOPA blackout was effective:

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) withdrew as a co-sponsor of the Protect IP Act in the Senate, while Reps. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) and Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) said they were pulling their names from the companion House bill, the Stop Online Piracy Act. Opponents of the legislation, led by large Internet companies, say its broad definitions could lead to censorship of online content and force some websites to shut down.

Google also says they received over 4.5 million signatures on their anti-SOPA petition yesterday.

This is democracy in action and the people have spoken. Will Patrick Leahy and Lamar Smith listen to the people? Most likely not as the donations they get from pro-SOPA industry speaks louder than the actual people, but hopefully enough of their colleagues will listen that this legislation never even sees a vote or suffers a horrible death on the floor.

In related news, Hollywood bigs are stopping donations to the Obama campaign because of his opposition to the legislation. Perhaps it's time to target these industries. A good way will be to stay away from the movie theaters and stop buying DVDs. Time to hit the fat-cats where it matters the most - in their wallets.

Some very good news on the SOPA front:

Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) will not support the Stop Online Piracy Act, according to a statement released by his office Monday.

In the statement, Ryan calls the Internet “one of the most magnificent expressions of freedom and free enterprise in history” and says “it should stay that way.”

According to Ryan, SOPA is an attempted solution to the “legitimate problem” of digital piracy, but the bill “creates the precedent and possibility for undue regulation, censorship and legal abuse.”

Congressman Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, became a target of the Reddit community last month. Reddit users considered Ryan’s previous stance on SOPA too vague — and took issue with the $288,600 that the Congressman had accepted from pro-SOPA groups.

I've got to give kudos to the Reddit community. They have really been out front on making sure our freedoms don't get hindered by some draconian piece of legislation being bought in Congress by big money. I just wish the blogosphere would push a little more on this issue, as it has serious implications for what we do.