Asia Bizz: On January 18, 2012, websites like Reddit and Wikipedia as well as gaming organizations prepared for an online blackout. The blackout was in protest of the SOPA, which is the Stop Online Piracy Act, on the same day when the House Judiciary Committee hearing on HR 3261 was scheduled in Washington.
US President Barack Obama has expressed that he would not support the bill. For now, the SOPA has been delayed and the House has agreed to revisit the issue next month.
Darell Issa, the California Congressman who was till now opposing the bill, recently praised the Internet action which spread across the web like a virus. Issa said, “The voice of the Internet community has been heard,”. But there is another similar bill, Protect IP, which is the Enforcing and Protecting American Rights Against Sites Intent on Theft and Exploitation Act which poses problems for the gamers and internet users.
The attempts by the SOPA and Protect IP to combat the online piracy will be preventing American search engines like the Google and Yahoo from directing the users to the sites that distribute stolen content. Though the SOPA has been shelved for time being the debate is not over and more such bills will be moved forward.
