SOPA and PIPA on Hold, Says Congress

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid delayed the vote on the controversial Protect IP Act (PIPA) that was slated for next Tuesday, while House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith said his panel would not consider the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) until there is a “wider agreement on a solution.”

Just two days ago, Wikipedia, Reddit, Craigslist, Google, and other major websites protested against the two bills, with some of them blacking out for several hours or the entire day. Protesters took to the streets in San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., and other cities over the two bills. 

“In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT IP Act,” tweeted Sen. Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, seemingly confirming the pressure caused by the blackout and protests.

Rep. Smith, a Republican from Texas, said that he considered the concerns of critics of the bills. “It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products,” he said in a statement.

On Wednesday and Thursday, dozens of Congress members joined the opposition against both the PIPA and SOPA, while a few co-sponsors of the bill withdrew their support.

Both bills would grant the U.S. Attorney General the ability to cut off advertising revenue, payments, and search engine indexing for websites that are accused of distributing copyright materials. Critics of the measures, which include the White House, say the bills would grant too much power, cause security problems, and potentially disrupt the architecture of the Internet.

“There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved,” Reid said in a statement, adding that piracy has cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year.