Controversy around SOPA proposal continues

MEP Marietje Schaake wrote a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives, stating that the American proposals to battle illegal file sharing sites are a threat to global internet freedom. Currently, the House of Representatives is reviewing the Stop Online Piracy Act, a draft law that prescribes a policy of strict enforcement of intellectual property rights. According to MEP Schaake, these measures are going too far. “Not only is the entire blocking of a domain an “attack on freedom of speech”, the measure also goes beyond the limits of U.S. jurisdiction”, Schaake said. In addition, Schaake explained that other countries (like China and Iran) see this American measure as a justification to install internet filters or to block websites because they are illegal under their laws.

Therefore, in her letter to the U.S. House of Representatives, Schaake calls upon the U.S. senators and representatives to vote against the SOPA bill and Smith’s amendment. Instead, Schaake asks the U.S. to cooperate with the European Union to establish effective laws that enable writers, musicians and artists to get a fair compensation for their work, without violating fundamental (human) rights and limit the free and open internet.

Earlier, we reported on this website that Republican politician Lamar Smith, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is planning to submit an amendment to the SOPA law. Currently, the bill contains the possibility for the U.S. government to block entire domains, from American and foreign websites, on suspicion of online piracy. These are mainly file sharing sites’ domains where illegal files are offered. Smith, a supporter of the Stop Online Piracy Act, decided to give in to some of the opposition’s concerns, to increase the probability of the new regulatory framework surviving voting rounds in the House. If Smith's amendment is adopted, the U.S. government will only block foreign websites, not American websites.

Smith’s amendment can be read here.

Read more about SOPA on FutureofCopyright.com:

• Republicans amend SOPA proposal after criticism

Reference: Webwereld

By: Karen Groen