Immediately following Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) decision to postpone a full vote on the “PROTECT IP Act” (PIPA), which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), chief sponsor of the “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA), has announced that he will delay further consideration of the contentious anti-piracy bill in the House “until there is wider agreement on a solution.” Earlier this week, Smith said that he would resume markup hearings on SOPA by the House Judiciary Committee, of which he is chairman, in February.
The interruption of both bills follows Wednesday’s mass online blackout held in protest of the companion anti-piracy bills.
“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy,” said Smith in a statement. “It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.”
This statement stands in stark contrast to Smith’s earlier remarks about the opposition to SOPA and PIPA, in which brushed off their warnings that the bills could put and end to the free and open Internet as we know it as illegitimate, and without merit.
“The problem of online piracy is too big to ignore,” Smith added. “American intellectual property industries provide 19 million high-paying jobs and account for more than 60 percent of U.S. exports. The theft of America’s intellectual property costs the U.S. economy more than $100 billion annually and results in the loss of thousands of American jobs. Congress cannot stand by and do nothing while American innovators and job creators are under attack.”
“The online theft of American intellectual property is no different than the theft of products from a store. It is illegal and the law should be enforced both in the store and online,” he said.
Prior to Wednesday’s blackout, which saw more than 75,000 websites “go black” in protest, SOPA and PIPA enjoyed the support of 80 members of Congress, while just 31 members stood in opposition to these bills. By Thursday, the balance of power shifted dramatically, with only 63 members in both houses of Congress in support of SOPA/PIPA, and 122 opposed, according to ProPublica.
While the delay of SOPA and PIPA is testament to the power of the opposition movement to sway Congress, it is also obvious that the fight is far from over. Both Sen. Reid and Rep. Smith have vowed to continue the fight against piracy, and could revive these bills — or others like them — at any time.
This article was originally posted on Digital Trends
More from Digital Trends
PIPA vote canceled by Sen. Harry Reid
SOPA/PIPA blackout: By the numbers
Sen. Marco Rubio drops support of PIPA, a bill he co-sponsored [Update: 2nd Sen. backs down]
January 18 SOPA/PIPA blackout: A quick guide
[
[ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]],
'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p',
'[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]',
' ',
'630',
' ',
' ',
],
[ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]],
' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO',
'[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]',
' ',
'630',
' ',
' ',
],
[ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]],
'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ',
'[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]',
' ',
'630',
' ',
' ',
],
[ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]],
'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi',
'[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]',
' ',
'630',
' ',
' ',
],
[ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]],
'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN',
'[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]',
' ',
'630',
' ',
' ',
],
[ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]],
'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ',
'[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]',
' ',
'630',
' ',
' ',
],
[ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]],
'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ',
'[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]',
' ',
'630',
' ',
' ',
],
[ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]],
'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD',
'[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]',
' ',
'630',
' ',
' ',
],
[ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]],
'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO',
'[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]',
' ',
'630',
' ',
' ',
],
[ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]],
'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj',
'[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]',
' ',
'630',
' ',
' ',
],
[ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]],
'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/',
'Click image to see more photos',
'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg',
'630',
' ',
'AP',
],
[ [['Titanic', 7]],
'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/',
' ',
'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg',
'550',
' ',
' ',
],
[ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]],
'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/',
'Click image to see more photos',
'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg',
'630',
' ',
'AP',
],
[ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]],
'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/',
'Click image to see more photos',
'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg',
'500',
' ',
'AP',
]
]
[
[ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]],
'29438204',
'0'
],
[ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]],
'28924649',
'0'
],
[ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]],
'28811216',
'0'
],
[ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]],
'28805461',
'0'
],
[ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]],
'28771014',
'0'
],
[ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]],
'28759848',
'0'
],
[ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]],
'28747556',
'0'
],
[ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]],
'28744868',
'0'
],
[ [['short answer is yes', 7]],
'28746030',
'0'
],
[ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]],
'28731764',
'0'
],
[ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]],
'28723797',
'0'
],
[ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]],
'28712293',
'0'
],
[ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]],
'28687424',
'0'
],
[ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]],
'28667224',
'0'
],
[ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]],
'28660934',
'0'
],
[ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]],
'28647343',
'0'
],
[ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]],
'28630306',
'0'
],
[ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]],
'28493546',
'0'
],
[ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]],
'28413590',
'0'
],
[ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]],
'28413590',
'1',
'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ',
'on Yahoo! Music',
'http://music.yahoo.com'
],
[ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]],
'videoID',
'1',
'overwrite-pre-description',
'overwrite-link-string',
'overwrite-link-url'
]
]
443 comments