SOPA anti-piracy bill markup to resume next month, lawmaker says
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One day before major players in the online community plan to launch a virtual protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) making its way through Congress, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued a statement saying the committee will delay its markup of the bill until February.
But Smith said the delay is unrelated to Wikipedia’s announcement that it would black out its English sites for 24 hours, or to Reddit’s decision to black out its site for 12 hours, or to Google’s announcement that it will place a link on its homepage to highlight its opposition to the bill.
In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Smith said the delay was because of Republican and Democratic retreats scheduled for the next few weeks.
Then he reiterated his commitment to sending the bill to the White House.
‘To enact legislation that protects consumers, businesses and jobs from foreign thieves who steal America’s intellectual property, we will continue to bring together industry representatives and Members to find ways to combat online piracy,’ Smith said. “I am committed to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to send a bipartisan bill to the White House that saves American jobs and protects intellectual property.’
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