Anti-Piracy Bill Could Hurt Online Advertising
- by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, July 5, 2011
A proposed anti-piracy bill pending in the Senate could make it difficult for online advertisers and credit card companies to continue doing business on the Web, warns a group of law professors.
The Protect IP Act (S. 968), which recently cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee, is aimed at sites "dedicated to infringing activities." The measure enables the Department of Justice to obtain orders prohibiting Internet service providers from putting through traffic to those sites' URLs. (Web users could still reach the sites by typing in their numerical addresses.)
The Protect IP Act also provides for court orders forcing Google, Bing and other search engines to stop returning certain results. In addition, the proposed law would require credit-card companies and advertisers to stop doing business with sites that content owners allege are dedicated to infringement.
"Giving this enormous new power not just to the government but to any copyright and trademark owner would not only disrupt the operations of the allegedly infringing Web site without a final judgment of wrongdoing, but would make it extraordinarily difficult for advertisers and credit-card companies to do business on the Internet," the academics allege in a letter drafted by professors Mark Lemley of Stanford, David Levine of Elon and David Post of Temple.
The letter, which is still being circulated, has so far drawn signatures by more than 90 law professors, Post announced this week on the widely read legal blog The Volokh Conspiracy.
Hollywood is backing the bill, while digital rights groups and others, including The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, oppose it. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) put a "hold" on the measure shortly after it passed the Judiciary Committee, but the bill could still be enacted.
A group of prominent venture capitalists and Internet experts have also weighed in against the measure.
The law professors say that the "practical effect" of the Protect IP Act "would be to kill innovation by technology companies in the media space."
"Anyone who starts such a company is at risk of having their source of customers and revenue -- indeed, their Web site itself -- disappear at a moment's notice," they argue.
Hollywood has too many friends in Congress to worry that an anti-piracy measure might fail.
I am one who also believe the Internet needs government regulation in America (very serious government action in France with new anti-piracy law called HADOPI starting to be officially applied for example). Eric F. Vermote illegally used P2P in Maryland during 2003-2004 (bootlegs & audio files for his car). This man with a IT degree works for NASA & the University of Maryland but went to jail for automobile theft in Florida... he is definitely not at all scrupulous with music too obviously and filed a defamation legal suit in France against me in July 2009 stipulating he never got involved in on-line piracy because he is a manipulative liar & because the case involved never got officially substantiated or couldn't ever be substantiated; my point is that if the Internet had been better regulated by the US government Eric F. Vermote would not have had the opportunity to lie against me and pretend what I accused him of (on-line piracy) is frivolous. On-line piracy cases almost absolutely never get substantiated unfortunately! Damien Bizeau - Classical Music, France.