Obama Administration Takes the Right Approach to Internet Policing and Says No to SOPA

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US Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra helps put the brakes on SOPA

Good news out of Washington, D.C.  In a post titled “Combating Online Piracy while Protecting an Open and Innovative Internet,” members of the Obama Administration, including Chief Technology Officer, Aneesh Chopra have responded by opposing key elements of the pending legislation, “all but killing the current versions,” according to NY Times reporter Edward Wyatt.

From the White House:

Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small. Across the globe, the openness of the Internet is increasingly central to innovation in business, government, and society and it must be protected. To minimize this risk, new legislation must be narrowly targeted only at sites beyond the reach of current U.S. law, cover activity clearly prohibited under existing U.S. laws, and be effectively tailored, with strong due process and focused on criminal activity. Any provision covering Internet intermediaries such as online advertising networks, payment processors, or search engines must be transparent and designed to prevent overly broad private rights of action that could encourage unjustified litigation that could discourage startup businesses and innovative firms from growing.  Read more…

SOPA, the so-called Stop Intenet Piracy Act, and its cousin, the “Protect-IP Act,” have been strongly criticized by key Internet companies and leaders, including Google, Yahoo and others.  We concur with the opinion that the bills pose significant First Amendment challenges to freedom of speech, among several other potential pitfalls.

The post is published at www.whitehouse.gov, in response to a We the People petition called “VETO the SOPA bill and any other future bills that threaten to diminish the free flow of information.”

The action also demonstrates an effective engagement of the online petition process.  We hope to see more interactive democracy like this in the future.

Related articles

• The White House Will Not Support Controversial Internet Piracy Bills SOPA or PIPA (perezhilton.com)
• White House Will Not Support Online Piracy Bills (huffingtonpost.com)
• White House comments on SOPA, won’t support harmful legislation (digitaltrends.com)