sopa Protect IP Act May Be Amended

[ThePitt]

The controversial copyright enforcement bill the Protect IP Act may be amended on the Senate floor later this month in response to ongoing concerns about its provisions affecting Internet service providers and the domain-name system, the bill's chief sponsor said.

Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and chief sponsor of the Protect IP Act, or PIPA, said Thursday he plans to offer an amendment that would require a study of the impact of the ISP provisions in the bill before they are implemented.

If the study found negative impacts, it's likely the ISP provision would be killed. The Senate is scheduled to begin debate on PIPA on Jan. 24.

PIPA would allow the U.S. Department of Justice to seek court orders requiring U.S. ISPs to block access to foreign websites accused by the DOJ of infringing copyright. Opponents of PIPA and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a similar bill in the House of Representatives, have argued that the bills would lead to widespread cybersecurity problems as U.S. Internet users attempt to circumvent the blocks, and could lead to the blocking of legitimate speech.

http://www.techworld.com.au/article/412292/sponsor_protect_ip_act_may_amended_response_concerns