The House Judiciary Committee, reviewing a proposal for a new law aimed at combating online piracy, suspended discussions Friday without setting a date to reconvene. The move pleased top Internet companies and others who warn that the bill could lead to a new age of censorship on the Web.

Responses from both the business community and the public have been fierce. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales went so far as to threaten to take down his site if the bill wasn’t amended, and the Stop Online Piracy Act hashtag on Twitter trended sharply as people voiced concerns about the proposed law’s impact.

Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, agreed to put off deliberations to allow for further investigation into the claim that the law would harm the infrastructure of the Internet. –ARK

The Guardian:

Top media firms, including some of the biggest names in Hollywood, have been lobbying hard for the legislation claiming online piracy is costing them billions in lost sales and jobs.

But executives from Google, Wikipedia and other high profile tech firms have accused the committee of pursuing the same strategy used by China to censor its internet and claimed the legislation as drafted would damage the Internet’s global structure.

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#censorship#congress#google#house of representatives#internet#sopa#texas#wikipedia