FierceOnlineVideo editor Jim O'Neill gives his take on why the proponents of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill designed to crack down on Internet piracy, need to go back to the drawing board.
There have been two sides of the debate on how to control Internet piracy.
Led by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and a dozen co-sponsors, SOPA proponents argue that the measure would punish anyone for unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content, while giving immunity to Internet services that voluntarily take action against websites dedicated to infringement.
However, opponents, including Facebook, Twitter, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Wikipedia (which shut down its site yesterday in protest of the measure), argue the bill will inhibit the growth of the Web by giving the government the right to "censor the Web." Read more...