On Nov 19th the U.s Senate gave the go ahead on a new law which would see the government given new powers enabling them to shut down websites accused of copyright infringement.
The Combating Online Infringements and Counterfeits Act (COICA) which was first introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy and was passed with a 19-0 vote. would also allow the Attorney General to create a blacklist of domain names and block them from public view. In effect internet censorship!
You've probably already guessed that the entertainment industry had a part to play. A few words from Senator Leahy and he had their full support.
“Each year, online piracy and the sale of counterfeit goods cost American businesses billions of dollars and result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs.
The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act will protect the investment American companies make in developing brands and creating content and will protect the jobs associated with those investments. Protecting intellectual property is not uniquely a Democratic or Republican priority — it is a bipartisan priority.”
The bill has since come under huge scrutiny and many are outraged, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) Peter Eckerslee who said "The bill is an unconstitutional restriction on freedom of speech and a threat to innovation"
For now the Bill is on hold as a Senator from oregon, namely Ron Wyden is opposed to the bill. So long as Wyden opposes the bill, it will be on hold. This may well be the last we hear of COICA, at least until the next congress season in which it would need to be reintroduced for consideration. We would hope a 19-0 vote won't come a second time....
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