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Online piracy criticized
2012-01-15
Government officers raised questions on Sat. about online robbery legislation in the works in Congress that top technology firms have decried as heavy-handed, exclaiming a lighter touch would be better. In an announcement, 3 counsellors to President Barack Obama asserted they thought the suggested Stop Online Robbery Act ( SOPA ) and other bills could make enterprises online exposed to legal action and harm legal activity and freedom of speech. "Any effort to fight online robbery must guard against the danger of online censorship of lawful activity and must not restrain invention by our dynamic companies huge and small," claimed the officers, including Government cyber-security czar Howard Schmidt. The House of Representatives' SOPA bill will put pressure on foreign internet sites selling bootleg U.S. Flicks , music or other fake products by permitting non-public parties to aim towards the websites' advertisers and payment suppliers. It has put Web giants, customer action groups and freedom of speech advocates in opposition to U.S. Copyright industries, including Hollywood studios and music labels, that have long disagreed for harder protection. The search site Google Incorporated told Congress in Nov the bill went too far and could depress investment. With leading online firms Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter and eBay, it ran adverts in major papers prompting legislators to reconsider their approach. Devotees of the law disagree that current U.S. Laws leave few options for copyright holders whose products finish up on foreign web sites. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican who chairs the House judiciary board, declared the bill went after those that nab U.S. Technology and products and disburse them unlawfully. "It isn't censorship to apply the law against foreign thieves," Smith declared on Sat. , guessing that intellectual property industries provide 19,000,000 high paying U.S. Roles and account for at least sixty % of American exports. "Congress can't stand by and do nothing while some of America's most lucrative and productive industries are under attack," he claimed in an announcement replying to the Government.
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