Studios to propose alternative anti-piracy bills wording
December 5, 2011
By Colin Mann
Following confirmation that a bipartisan group of US House and Senate lawmakers had released a draft proposal to address their concerns over controversial House and Senate anti-piracy bills comes news that a senior executive of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is to “come forward” with language for the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act’ (SOPA) anti-piracy bill currently sitting before US Congress.
“We will come forward with language that will address some of the legitimate concerns of technology companies that have opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House, and a similar Protect IP Act in the Senate,” said Michael O’Leary, MPAA’s senior executive vice president for global policy and external affairs.
SOPA would allow intellectual property holders to order operators such as Google to block sites that allegedly violate copyright. Internet Service Providers would also be able to block access of their own accord, without a complaint even being filed, if they deem the sites are dedicated to “theft” of intellectual property.
Several major Internet interests such as Google, Reddit, Mozilla and Facebook, have publicly campaigned against SOPA, warning that it will result in web censorship and loss of free speech rights. O’Leary rejects such claims, saying that the groups opposing the bill have provided “all rhetoric and there are no proposals”.