Anti-piracy legislation in both the U.S. House (H.R. 3261, Stop Online Piracy Act, or “SOPA”) and Senate (S.968 PROTECT IP Act, or “PIPA”) has been abruptly halted following this past Wednesday’s worldwide online blackout protest involving numerous popular Internet sites, tweets, blogs, and the like (including WIKIPEDIA). There has also been growing domestic concern over the potential extent of the federal government’s reach in its effort to address rogue overseas websites.
While the anti-piracy bills are intended to address legitimate violations of U.S. intellectual property rights by websites that generally operate outside the U.S., opponents are concerned with the potential for excessive restraints on liberty, both in the U.S. and worldwide, should the current versions of these bills become enacted into law.
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