SOPA

19 Stories

Part of SOPA Could be Back
 Part of SOPA 
 Could be Back 
Aug 5, 2013 3:05 PM CDT

Part of SOPA Could be Back

The part that could send Justin Bieber to jail

(Newser) - Thought SOPA was dead and buried? Its corpse could be reanimated—or at least a body part, anyway. The Washington Post has picked up on a recent government report , which recommends that one part of SOPA be brought back to the table: making it a felony to stream copyrighted works....

Congressional Offices Pirating Movies—Again

Dozens of films, TV shows downloaded illegally in recent months

(Newser) - A new report shows staffers in Congress—or maybe even the lawmakers themselves—are big fans of illegal downloading. A site called ScanEye tracked downloads via IP addresses and found that congressional offices downloaded all kinds of illegal fare over the last four months, from the mob flick Lawless, to...

House Passes Controversial Cybersecurity Bill

CISPA vote defies White House veto threat

(Newser) - The controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act has passed the House, despite privacy concerns and a veto threat from the White House. CISPA, designed to make it easier for companies and the government to share information about cybersecurity threats, passed 248-168, which isn't a big enough margin to...

This Woman Just Doubled Her Worth ... to $20B

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart climbing the ranks of the rich

(Newser) - Smart Company has been keeping an eye on Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart, and it predicted last year that she might well end up being the world's richest person someday. If she keeps having weeks like this one, don't count her out. Her wealth doubled from $10 billion...

Reid Delays Anti-Piracy Vote
 Reid Delays Anti-Piracy Vote 
Jan 20, 2012 9:38 AM CST

Reid Delays Anti-Piracy Vote

As Republicans solidify PIPA opposition

(Newser) - Harry Reid has postponed Tuesday's test vote on the Senate's anti-piracy bill, after a storm of online protests convinced several of the bill's co-sponsors to switch sides, the AP reports. Democrats have now emerged as the main backers of the PROTECT IP Act, the Wall Street Journal...

SOPA Protest Hails Web's 'Coming of Age'

Protesting websites' message clicked with users

(Newser) - Yesterday, we witnessed the power of the Internet to influence policy, as countless websites went dark to protest SOPA and PIPA. It did the job: Congress faced an onslaught of complaints about the controversial online piracy measures—which were born of traditional lobbying and heavy corporate spending, writes James Temple...

OPEN Act Emerges as SOPA, PIPA Take a Beating

Senators desert PIPA amid public backlash

(Newser) - The public backlash and Internet protest yesterday made the SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy bills look a lot like a sinking ship—one many lawmakers decided not to go down with. Sen. Marco Rubio dropped his support for the PIPA bill he co-sponsored and he was joined by 17 others, including...

Marco Rubio Drops PIPA Sponsorship

Says he's worried about unintended consequences

(Newser) - Internet, you have been heard—by a couple of influential senators at least. Marco Rubio says he's dropping his support of the Protect Intellectual Property Act, of which he is a co-sponsor, Politico reports. In a Facebook post , the Florida senator says he's heard "legitimate concerns about...

Wikipedia Editors Blast Blackout

They prefer neutrality over advocacy

(Newser) - Switzerland: It's not just an entry on Wikipedia—it's what some volunteer editors would like to be in the SOPA ruckus. In a word, neutral. In light of today's SOPA/PIPA blackout , the AP speaks with editors who aren't too pleased with the site's foray into...

Websites Go Dark to Protest SOPA

Thousands of sites join strike

(Newser) - Even the LOLcats are going on strike. The "Cheezburger Network" is among an estimated 7,000 websites shutting down today to protest two Internet-regulation bills making their way through Congress, the Washington Post reports. Wikipedia went dark at midnight Eastern time and was soon joined by Reddit, Raw Story,...

Wikipedia to Go Dark in SOPA Protest

Make sure you don't need to look anything up Wednesday

(Newser) - "Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday!" With that tweet, issued earlier today, Jimmy Wales revealed that Wikipedia will be joining up with Reddit, I Can Haz Cheezburger, and several other websites in their Jan. 18 protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act...

White House on SOPA: Don't Hurt 'Dynamic' Web

Meanwhile, House author offers new concession

(Newser) - The White House waded into the politically volatile territory of SOPA today, notes the Hill , and it sounds a little wary about the anti-piracy legislation. "While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation...

SOPA Author: 'I Don't Mind Taking That On'

Lamar Smith seems unfazed by powerful opponents to piracy bill

(Newser) - Rep. Lamar Smith, author of the fiercely controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, doesn't sound like he's bothered much by the heated opposition from e-powerhouses such as Facebook, Google, Reddit, and Twitter. "It is amazing to me that the opponents apparently don't want to protect American consumers...

Reddit Going Offline to Protest SOPA

Other sites consider doing the same

(Newser) - Reddit is doing more than just pressuring Paul Ryan and GoDaddy over the Stop Online Piracy Act : The social media forum is taking itself offline in protest. One week from today, visitors to Reddit.com will only see a message about SOPA and its threats to Internet freedom, as well...

Paul Ryan: No Way I'm Backing SOPA

Reddit pressure may have swayed Republican lawmaker

(Newser) - Read Paul Ryan's lips: He is clearly, absolutely, not supporting the Stop Online Piracy Act. Under intense pressure from Reddit to oppose SOPA, the congressman today called the Internet “one of the most magnificent expressions of freedom and free enterprise in history” and said “it should stay...

What Boycott? GoDaddy Gained Users Yesterday

But that doesn't mean 'Dump GoDaddy Day' was a lost cause

(Newser) - An impending boycott may have pushed GoDaddy to change position on SOPA, but the boycott itself didn't hurt the company much. Yesterday, the official day of the movement, GoDaddy actually saw a net increase of 20,748 domains, TechDirt reports. Indeed, GoDaddy saw almost twice as many transfers into...

Reddit's Next SOPA Target: Paul Ryan

Plus, looks like 'Dump GoDaddy Day' actually worked

(Newser) - Behold the power of Reddit: Users fuming over Paul Ryan's alleged support of a controversial online piracy bill have prompted a clarification from the congressman. "Contrary to false reports, Congressman Paul Ryan is not a cosponsor of HR 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act," said a rep,...

GoDaddy Braces for Today's Mass Exodus

Registrar faces boycott over support of SOPA

(Newser) - It's D-Day for GoDaddy: The domain king today faces a potentially devastating mass exodus over its brief support of the Stop Online Piracy Act , a controversial anti-piracy measure before Congress that's got First Amendment huggers hot under the collar. Seems GoDaddy's thumbs-up fell afoul of a single...

Online Piracy Bill Becomes Major Battle

Lobbyists dig in over controversial SOPA measure

(Newser) - A battle is heating up on Capitol Hill over a controversial new bill targeting online piracy. Yesterday Google, Facebook, Yahoo and other web companies took out full-page newspaper ads railing against the House’s recently introduced Stop Online Piracy Act, even as supporters sung its praises at a hearing. “...

19 Stories