PROTECT IP Undergoing Major Changes, Hill Staffers Say
The author of the PROTECT IP Act, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is considering substantial changes to the legislation, Senate staffers told us. Most of the remaining PROTECT IP cosponsors said they were still supporting the bill, but urged leadership to slow its pace and consider modifications to mollify the concerns of the technology sector. The chamber is still planning to take a cloture vote on the bill on Tuesday around 2:15 p.m., a Judiciary spokeswoman said.
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A Leahy spokeswoman would not confirm that the chairman was discussing changes to the bill. “We just don’t have anything to report on that front at this time,” she said. But Leahy last week showed a willingness to listen to industry concerns when he agreed to reevaluate the Domain Name System (DNS) blocking provisions of his bill. Cybersecurity experts had previously said the provisions would have unintended effects on the security of the Internet and the deployment of Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC).
Senators roundly agreed to reevaluate the legislation after Wikipedia, Craigslist, Tumblr, Reddit, and thousands of other sites blacked out their homepages in a coordinated protest of PROTECT IP and its companion bill, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) (CD Jan 19 p5). The protest led to an outcry of public opposition for the bills and many of its sponsors withdrew their support. At our deadline, seven of the 39 sponsors of PROTECT IP had rescinded their support and seven of the 31 sponsors of SOPA, had withdrawn theirs.
The seven PROTECT IP cosponsors who said they would no longer support the bill are: Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; John Boozman, R-Ark.; Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; and David Vitter, R-La. On Thursday, Reps. Steve Scalise, R-La.; John Carter, R-Texas; Tim Griffin, R-Ark.; and Dennis Ross, R-Fla., withdrew their sponsorship of SOPA. On Wednesday Reps. Ben Quayle, R-Ariz.; Lee Terry, R-Neb.; and Tim Holden, D-Pa., confirmed that they too would drop their support for the bill.
PROTECT IP should be slowed or halted completely until the concerns of the technology sector have been addressed, some Senate offices said. Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, is supporting efforts to slow the bill down in order to “see if there is a way to address the major concerns being raised,” his spokesman said: Though Risch has not withdrawn his sponsorship, “he is willing to take the time to look at the issues of concern."
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., also urged Leahy to slow the bill. “Congress should avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences,” Chambliss said. “I have listened to the concerns of many Georgians and I agree that these concerns must be addressed.” Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., urged the chairman to “change course,” his spokesman said. “The current draft of the bill has raised too many concerns and Senator Bennet does not believe we should move it forward."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said the bill “needs further changes,” according to her spokesman: She has “spoken to both Senators Leahy and [Ranking Member] Chuck Grassley about improving the bill.” Feinstein previously raised concerns about the DNS blocking provision of the bill and was “pleased that Senator Leahy has announced this provision will be removed,” the spokesman said.
Other sponsors said they would agree to change the bill in a way that would address the tech sector’s concerns. Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said he’s “open to making reasonable modifications” to the bill. His spokesman declined to specify what exactly he would change. “The Senator recognizes that many have raised concerns that this bill could inadvertently stifle free speech and innovation online,” he said.
A spokesman for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said the senator hadn’t heard any “definitive” changes yet but would welcome any suggestions to improve the bill. Gillibrand issued a joint statement with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that said: “We will continue to work with our colleagues to ensure a proper balance between stopping the theft of intellectual property and copyright infringement, and doing so without the unintended consequence of stifling or censoring the Internet, which we strongly oppose. We have worked to make sure there are due process protections to ensure that legal activity over the Internet is not disrupted and that the web continues to be a place of innovation, intellectual freedom, and an unrestricted platform for the free exchange of ideas -- and we welcome additional suggestions.” Protesters organized by New York Tech Meetup congregated outside those senators’ offices in New York Wednesday to voice their opposition to PROTECT IP.