Senator Seeks to Block New Online Piracy Bill

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden is siding with free speech advocates, vowing to fight against the online piracy bill passed by a Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday.

Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said Thursday that he will seek to block the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act from passing the full Senate, unless changes to the legislation are made.

Wyden called the bill the "wrong medicine" for dealing with online copyright infringement.

The bill would allow the Justice Department to get court orders requiring U.S. domain-name registrars to shut down domestic websites suspected of hosting infringing materials.

The bill would also allow the officials through court orders, to order U.S. ISPs to redirect customer traffic away from infringing foreign websites.

"Deploying this statute to combat online copyright infringement seems almost like using a bunker-busting cluster bomb, when what you need is a precision-guided missile," Wyden said.

"If you don't think this thing through carefully, the collateral damage would be American innovation, American jobs, and a secure Internet."

Supporters of the bill say it's needed to fight copyright and trademark infringement online. The bill would protect legitimate sites by targeting only sites that have no other purchase than the distribution of infringing materials, supporters said.

Opponents of the legislation say it amounts to censorship and gives the government too much power. They say even websites with infringing materials have content that's protected.

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Nebraska Legislature Passes Republican's Age Verification Bill With No Votes Against It

Nebraska’s unicameral legislature has passed the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

Performers in Meta Blacklisting Lawsuit Seek to Preserve Antitrust Claims

Adult Performance Artists Guild board officers Alana Evans, Kelly Pierce and Ruby have informed a California court that, although they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans to blacklist rival premium fan platforms’ talent, they may still have antitrust claims that they may pursue in the future.

FSC, Co-Plaintiffs to Ask US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Texas Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and its co-plaintiffs in the challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law have filed a petition before the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit asking to stay its recent upholding the law because they intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law’s constitutionality.

FSC Vows to Fight Florida Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.

Kansas Republican Aims to Create New Bureaucracy to 'Investigate' Porn Websites

Republican state legislators succeeded Monday in moving forward Kansas’ version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, despite serious concerns raised by House Democrats about the cost of establishing a new bureaucracy tasked with investigating websites for pornographic content.

SK Intertainment Launches 'Skinfluential Management' Agency, FansFuel Joint Venture

Mr. Skin/Mr. Man parent company SK Intertainment has launched new creator agency Skinfluential Management, as well as a new joint venture with Showbizz Media's creator stats and affiliate marketing platform, FansFuel.

Industry Attorney, Free Speech Champion Clyde DeWitt Passes Away at 75

Noted industry attorney Clyde DeWitt passed away on Friday in Las Vegas at 75, according to friends and colleagues.

APClips Names Avery Jane 'Creator of the Month'

APClips has named Avery Jane its Creator of the Month for March.

JustFor.fans Offers Gumroad Users Platform to Sell NSFW Artwork

JustFor.fans (JFF) is offering Gumroad users a platform to sell NSFW artwork after the latter banned adult content.

Live Cam Academy Offers Free Access to Educational Resources

Live Cam Academy is offering its educational resources for free to content creators and cam models.

Show More