Rep. Earl Blumenauer blacked out his website in solidarity with the anti-SOPA and anti-PIPA protests Wednesday
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — The US Congress has postponed on Friday its decision on Protect Intellectual Property Act and Stop Online Piracy Act, the controversial bills that are aimed at blocking access to websites that contain pirated content and counterfeit material.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he would delay a critical vote that was originally set to take place on January 24.
“In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT I.P. Act,” Reid said on Friday, and later in the day, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said that his committee will not vote on SOPA until “there is wider agreement on a solution.”
Meanwhile, anti-SOPA and PIPA legislation group Save Hosting Coalition has been working with Engine Advocacy, a group that focuses on similar efforts but is specifically directed at the startup community.
The groups have been promoting the use of a call tool for individuals and companies to generate calls to their Senators and Congress people. Many of the blacked out websites have used the call tool.
The organization has also released an animated video, written and directed by Save Hosting Coalition co-founder and ServInt COO Christian Dawson, that shows how the bills would negatively affect hosting providers.
On Thursday, NetCoalition held a press conference to recap the protest events as well as the need to continue protesting PIPA. Dawson participated at the conference, which can be streamed here, as a representative of the Internet industry on the speaker panel.
A group of Coalition members including representatives from Carpathia Hosting, FortressITX, Hedgehog Hosting and ServInt, visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday for meetings with Senators and Congresspeople.
About Justin Lee
Justin Lee has been a staff analyst with theWHIR since 2004. He writes about a range of web hosting and IT-related issues facing the industry on the WHIR website, as well the print version of the WHIR magazine. Follow him on Twitter @Justin_theWHIR.
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