Co-sponsors of SOPA and PIPA bills withdraw support

18 Jan 2012 at 22:55:17 by Peter Parrish

As several major internet sites "go dark" in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), congressional co-sponsors of those two bills have been withdrawing their support. Arizona representative Ben Quayle, who co-sponsored SOPA, pulled his name from the bill yesterday. However, the main sponsor (Texas representative Lamar Smith) is standing behind his creation.

Meanwhile, Florida senator and PIPA co-sponsor Marco Rubio has pulled his name from that bill and made a statement which reads: "As a senator from Florida, a state with a large presence of artists, creators and businesses connected to the creation of intellectual property, I have a strong interest in stopping online piracy that costs Florida jobs ... However, we must do this while simultaneously promoting an open, dynamic Internet environment that is ripe for innovation and promotes new technologies".

Rubio also called on fellow senator and co-sponsor Harry Reid (who, just by chance, happens to be a political rival) to follow suit and drop his support of PIPA. Texas senator John Cornyn has done just that, and will no longer be supporting PIPA.

Along with Monday's news that the White House was not in favour of SOPA in its current form, it seems the US legislature is losing its appetite for the two bills.

If you fancy listening to some IncGamers staff opinion on SOPA (and some truly awful jokes), get yourself over to the podcast page.

Source: mashable.com

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