White House Makes Official Statement on SOPA
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has caused quite a buzz recently. It’s been talked about by major Internet companies, online news outlets, and here at KFYO. And it’s a story that I have personally been following for quite some time. Now, the White House has made its stance on the SOPA bill, and it’s a pretty unimpressive stance at that.
Yesterday, the White House released an official statement responding to several petitions to stop the passage of SOPA. And to no one’s surprise, the White House’s stance is striving to be neutral and as general as possible:
While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet. 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.
In general, the White House has said it will not support bills that hamper the free speech of the Internet, but it does not say anything about whether it specifically supports or opposes SOPA or its sister act, the Protect IP Act. (PIPA) Once again, we have a classic example that when you try to please both sides, nothing really gets done.
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