Jan. 19, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today urged cosponsors of legislation in both houses of Congress to censor the Internet in the name of protecting copyright to reconsider their support as 14 cosponsors have already dropped support:
“The American people have spoken, with the urging of popular websites like Wikipedia, through hundreds of thousands of emails and phone calls to members of Congress in opposition to a big government takeover of the Internet. It led to no less than 14 cosponsors of SOPA and PIPA to drop their support, eight in the Senate alone. Now it is time for other cosponsors to respond to the will of the American people as well.
“There simply is no constituency for legislation that, in the name of protecting copyright, institutionalizes a system of blocking entire websites, removing visibility from search engines, and targeting ad providers, all based merely on the accusation of intellectual property theft. Existing law already provides for the removal of copyrighted material from the Internet domestically, and dealing with foreign infringement requires diplomacy with relevant nations overseas, not a regime of censorship here at home.”
Attachments:
“SOPA Support Imploding,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, Jan. 19, 2012 at http://netrightdaily.com/2012/01/sopa-support-implodes/
ALG praises Wikipedia.org and Other Websites for Striking Against
Online Censorship Bill, Jan. 18, 2012 at http://getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=10&sl=5&contentid=820
SOPA: Lamar Smith’s copyright hypocrisy, ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Jan. 17, 2012) athttp://netrightdaily.com/2012/01/lamar-smiths-copyright-hypocrisy/ .
“Government Already Blocking Internet Access,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Dec. 16, 2011) athttp://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/government-already-blocking-internet-access/ .
ALG: Internet Censorship Bill ‘un-American’, Press Release (Dec. 14, 2011) at http://getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=10&sl=5&contentid=807 .
Letter to Members of the House Judiciary Committee, ALG President Bill Wilson (Dec.14, 2011) at http://netrightdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/AntiSOPA-12-14-11.pdf .
“An Internet Without Uploading?” ALG President Bill Wilson (Dec. 14, 2011) at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/an-internet-without-uploading/ .
“Internet piracy bill: A free speech ‘kill switch’,” ALG President Bill Wilson, The Hill (Dec. 12, 2011) athttp://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/198687-internet-piracy-bill-a-free-speech-kill-switch .
Interview with ALG President Bill Wilson, WGEM, Hosts Rich Cain and Lindsey Hess, Quincy, IL (Dec. 12, 2011) athttp://my.wgem.com/_Bill-Wilson-Americans-for-Limited-Govt/audio/916294/29404.html .
“Legislation by Rep. Lamar Smith equals Internet censorship,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Dec. 12, 2011) athttp://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/legislation-by-rep-lamar-smith-equals-internet-censorship/ .
Bipartisan Letter from Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Rep. Darrell Issa against Internet Censorship Bill (Nov. 8, 2011) athttp://gov20.govfresh.com/issa-and-lofgren-dear-colleague-letter-versus-sopa/ .
Three Libertarians Raise Concerns about the Stop Online Piracy Act, Cato Institute (Nov. 7, 2011) at http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/three-libertarians-raise-concerns-about-the-stop-online-piracy-act/ .
“Guilty until proven innocent,” By ALG Communications Director Rick Manning, Nov. 16, 2011 at http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-a-budget/193901-guilty-until-proven-innocent .
Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.