Censorship

Microsoft has long been one of the most ardent proponents of expanding U.S. copyright law. But that enthusiasm doesn't extend to the new Stop Online Piracy Act, which its lobbyists are quietly working to alter, CNET has learned.

It's little surprise that Web-based companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter oppose SOPA, which is designed to make allegedly piratical Web sites virtually disappear from the Internet. They, and many civil liberties and human rights groups, worry that SOPA could jeopardize legitimate Web sites too.

But Redmond's skepticism is notable because unlike the Web companies, Microsoft earns nearly all … Read more

A little-noticed portion of a controversial House of Representatives copyright bill could require Internet providers to monitor customers' traffic and block the addresses of Web sites suspected of copyright infringement, a significant expansion of requirements in an earlier version of the bill.

The Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, says a network provider can be ordered to "prevent access by its subscribers located within the United States" to the allegedly piratical Web site. That language did not appear in an earlier Senate version called the Protect IP Act.

"It would cover IP blocking," says Markham Erickson, … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--David Ulevitch is an entrepreneur who built his business, OpenDNS, around providing better ways for customers and companies to deal with Internet domain names.

Which is why he's so alarmed by a Hollywood-backed copyright bill called the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. Ulevitch predicts it will be "extremely disruptive and destabilizing" to the Internet.

"The legislation has the potential to create the great firewall of America," Ulevitch, 29, told CNET in an interview today.

SOPA, which was introduced last month in the House of Representatives to applause from the Motion Picture Association of … Read more

Add the Sandia National Laboratories, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, to the list of opponents of a controversial Hollywood-backed copyright bill.

Leonard Napolitano, Sandia's director of computer sciences and information systems, warned in a letter that the legislation is "unlikely to be effective" and will "negatively impact U.S. and global cybersecurity and Internet functionality."

Napolitano sent a letter in response to a request for a critique of the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, from Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who represents the heart of Silicon Valley. Lofgren is leading opposition … Read more

The first House of Representatives hearing devoted to a controversial online copyright bill began in an unusual way: with politicians defending themselves from charges that the proposal goes too far.

It's "beyond troubling to hear hyperbolic charges that this bill will open the floodgates to government censorship," Rep. Mel Watt, a North Carolina Democrat, said during a House Judiciary committee hearing this morning.

Claiming that the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, will transform the United States into "a repressive regime belittles the circumstances under which true victims of tyrannical governments actually live," said Watt, … Read more

The head of the influential U.S. Copyright Office plans to offer an unqualified endorsement tomorrow of a controversial Hollywood-backed copyright bill.

Maria Pallante will tell a congressional committee that the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, is "essential" to thwarting online piracy.

A copy of Pallante's testimony obtained by CNET describes SOPA as "the next step in ensuring that our law keeps pace with infringers." (Part of her job is to provide advice to Congress on copyright law.)

"It is my view that if Congress does not continue to provide serious responses to … Read more

Foes of a controversial copyright measure have gained some high-profile allies: Google, Facebook, Twitter, Zynga, and other Web companies have joined the ranks of the bill's opponents.

They sent a letter (PDF) last night to key members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, saying the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, "pose[s] a serious risk to our industry's continued track record of innovation and job creation, as well as to our nation's cybersecurity."

The protest was designed to raise objections in advance of a hearing before the full House Judiciary committee … Read more

Three U.S. senators are asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to investigate recent reports that Internet-monitoring gear made by two California-based companies has found its way to Syria.

In a letter (PDF) made public today, the senators ask Clinton to investigate reports that devices made by NetApp and Blue Coat Systems were sold to Syria in a possible violation of U.S. law. The companies are both publicly traded and located in Sunnyvale, Calif., about an hour's drive south of San Francisco.

"We are deeply concerned about the reported sale of Internet monitoring and censorship technology to … Read more

Controversy over a new copyright bill continues to grow in Washington, D.C., with both proponents and detractors signing up new allies and sharpening their rhetoric. Even pop icon Justin Bieber has made an appearance.

The Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, introduced last week in the House of Representatives to the applause of lobbyists for Hollywood and other large content holders, is designed to make allegedly copyright-infringing Web sites, sometimes called "rogue" Web sites, virtually disappear from the Internet.

That goes too far and hinders freedom of speech and innovation, the Consumer Electronics Association, NetCoalition, and the … Read more