The Stop Internet Piracy Act is losing friends fast as website protests Wednesday directed the public's attention toward the proposed legislation. Sites like Google ran home-page links to information on SOPA, and sites like Wikipedia blacked out for the day in protest. Some members of congress have said the bill is as good as dead.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) appears to be reeling in the face of growing opposition.
Internet heavyweights like Wikipedia, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Facebook have demonstrated their opposition to the proposed legislation, in some cases protesting by temporarily blocking users from accessing content.
A broad swathe of organizations from both the left and right sides of the political spectrum have come out against SOPA, and antipathy to the legislation appears to be growing.
Meanwhile, some members of congress have reportedly begun pulling their support for the bill. It could be that the growing opposition has forced some lawmakers to rethink their positions. The high-tech industry has also held several briefings recently for congress regarding the bill, which may have led some lawmakers to change their stances. "The legislation is well-intentioned, and I would personally like to think that anyone who is withdrawing support has thought about the issue more deeply and has some new concerns that they'd like to address," Meg Marco, executive editor of The Consumerist, told TechNewsWorld.
Lawmakers such as Representative Lee Terry and Senator Ben Cardin have reportedly said they'll withdraw their backing for SOPA.Further, Rep. Justin Amash has expressed support for the anti-SOPA online blackout on his Facebook page, and Congressman Bob Latta opposes the legislation. Representative Dennis Ross tweeted that SOPA is dead. "I will not support SOPA if this headlong rush continues," he added. Rep. Rush Holt tweeted that the legislation will not have his vote.
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