Senator Ron Wyden blocked a change to the Copyright Act which would have allowed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to order search engines and ISP to stop sending traffic of websites accused of infringing copyrights. The proposed law is called “Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act” (PROTECT IP Act). This Act would allow the DOJ “…to seek court orders requiring search engines and ISPs to stop sending traffic to websites accused of infringing copyright. The bill would also allow copyright holders to seek court orders requiring payment processors and online ad networks to stop doing business with allegedly infringing websites.”
Critics of the proposed law said:
…it would lead to hundreds of court cases brought by copyright owners against online businesses. The legislation would lead to a blacklist of Internet sites and compromise the Internet’s Domain Name System,…
Senator Wyden called the Internet the "shipping lane" of the 21st century and felt the PROTECT IP Act would impede eCommerce.
What do you think?