With the prospect of SOPA legislation floating around the net for weeks, it’s refreshing to hear a change with the bills status; yes, SOPA DNS blocking is set to be removed from the conversation altogether.
Given the outcry against the bill and its misguided provisions, perhaps the bill’s author has been persuaded by more benign minds; he stated that he plans to remove that particular provision.
This certainly is a step in the right direction, mind you there is yet still more work to do with defeating this bill as a whole. For instance, even though SOPA DNS blocking is seemingly on the chopping block, the provision to curb or halt a site’s income is very well intact.
Stated Smith:
The Stop Online Piracy Act cuts off the flow of revenue to these foreign illegal sites and makes it harder for online criminals to market and distribute illegal products to US. consumers. The bill maintains provisions that ‘follow the money’ and cut off the main sources of revenue to foreign illegal sites. It also continues to protect consumers from being directed to foreign illegal websites by search engines. And it provides innovators with a way to bring claims against foreign illegal sites that steal and sell their technology, products and intellectual property.
The problem? I can point out a search engine issue immediately. How does the bill address privacy issues when surfing the net? It stands to reason that if the bill passes “privacy”, with regards to search engines, will be completely lost. How else will it “follow the money”?
We’ll continue to follow all progress concerning this bill, but for now here’s a thumbs up for SOPA DNS blocking hitting the showers. We hope you stay alert and let us know if you find anything pertinent as well. The only reason such a bill gained momentum is because we as a people lack year-round care on political issues. Perhaps now we’ll have more ever-watchful eyes moving forward.
Source: Lamar Smith