In what could represent a major victory for internet rights – President Obama announced that they would not support SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) legislation. The bill, promoted by the large media conglomerates and the entertainment industry, would have allowed corporations to shut down domains and sites they deemed violated piracy provisions, 5 years in prison for individuals who would post a link to what they deemed unfair.

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VIA LA TIMES

Score one for Google. The White House raised concerns Saturday about aspects of pending anti-piracy legislation that has been strongly backed by the Motion Picture Assn. of America, Hollywood’s chief lobbying arm.

In an unusually blunt statement, Obama administration officials signaled that the White House would not support parts of two bills wending their way through Congress — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) that critics say would limit freedom of speech on the Internet and unfairly punish legitimate websites.

“While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet,” said a statement from Victoria Espinel, intellectual property enforcement coordinator; Aneesh Chopra, U.S. chief technology officer; and Howard Schmidt, cybersecurity coordinator for the national security staff.

The statement is a setback for the major Hollywood studios and unions that have been mounting a lobbying campaign in support of the bills, which would give the Justice Department more tools to shut down foreign websites involved in the piracy of movies and TV shows.  Google, Facebook and other tech companies, however, have been fiercely opposed to the bills, particularly provisions that would allow the Justice Department to obtain court orders requiring internet search engines and payment processors to block access to websites involved in piracy.

“We appreciate the Administration’s recognition that our ability to innovate, invest, and grow the economy is dependent upon keeping the Internet free and open,” said Markham Erickson, executive director of the NetCoalition.com, a group of technology companies fighting the anti-piracy bills.

The House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on the SOPA bill later this month, while the Senate could take up its PIPA anti-piracy bill next month. Both bills are likely to be modified, now, to reflect the administration’s concerns.

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