Meehan Discusses Controversial Anti-Piracy Bills

Republican Rep. Patrick Meehan explained to Patch that while Congress is working on two controversial anti-piracy bills that it “must … take great care” not to censor the Internet.  

The two bills—the House of Representatives’ Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate’s Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA)—are designed to combat online piracy.

“There are a number of legislative proposals being considered in Congress aimed at dealing with the problem of online piracy from foreign websites. Violations of U.S. law perpetrated by foreign websites are job-killers in the United States, and it is appropriate that Congress should examine this problem and consider actions to prevent online piracy,” Meehan explained to Patch in an email early Tuesday evening.

But opponents of these bills, such as Wikipedia, AOL and Facebook, say the bills are too broad and may create online censorship. Wikipedia has stated that it will blackout, or go offline, in protest of the bills Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012.

“On January 18, 2012, in an unprecedented decision, the Wikipedia community has chosen to blackout the English version of Wikipedia for 24 hours, in protest against proposed legislation in the United States (SOPA and PIPA) in the U.S. Senate. If passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and bring about new tools for censorship of international websites inside the United States,” according to a press release issued by Wikipedia.

The online “free encyclopedia” has not responded to Patch’s voice message for additional information.

Reddit, a social media website, started the organization of the protest and it will also take part in the blackout, but only for 12 hours, from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. EST, according to its blog.

AOL, owner of Patch, has stated that while it does not support the bills, it will not join Wikipedia or Reddit in their protest.

“As written, we cannot support the bills. We believe an open Internet is critical for innovation, job creation, and the sustained growth of Internet businesses. We are in the process of working directly with lawmakers to improve the bills,” stated Tekedra N. Mawakana, AOL’s SVP of Public Policy, to a Patch inquiry. Patch will also not be joining in the blackout.

Google has stated, via a press release, that it will not take part of the blackout, but it will post a protest message on its homepage on Wednesday.

Meehan also shared similar worries that have been addressed.

“Congress must also take great care, however, to ensure that our efforts to stop foreign online piracy and protect American intellectual property do not hinder the innovative, job-creating power of the Internet, nor risk censorship on the Internet,” Meehan wrote, echoing what the White House stated in a press release recently.

Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr. and his Republican counterpart, Pat Toomey, did not reply back to Patch seeking comment.  

To better understand the bills, read this BBC primer on the subject.