Texas GOP Vote

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today issued the following statement in response to the Senate decision to postpone consideration of legislation to help combat online piracy.

I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.   Read more »

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. In this video, Clay Shirky, American writer, consultant and teacher on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies, discusses the negative implications of SOPA and PIPA and a clear, easy-to-understand way. If you have any questions as to why these pieces of legislation must be stopped, this would be a great video to watch!   Read more »

Provisions contained within the  Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Privacy ACT (SOPA) put an unconstitutional prior restraint on your freedom of speech on the web. Any discourse, be it vocal or virtual, is protected under the First Amendment. SOPA allows the government to target and shut down web sites providing information about the bills' censorship mechanisms or methods of circumvention. To avoid this, sites would need to constantly police and monitor any content on their site

If you’ve browsed the Internet today, you know that a handful of websites, including Wikipedia, TwitPic and WordPress, have blacked out in protest of the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).

Other websites, such as Google, are joining in the protest by displaying propaganda against the controversial acts.   Read more »

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers and servers used by billions of people from around the world. Consisting of trillions of web pages, it is an incomparable repository of the sum of human knowledge. It also serves as an essential communication tool, an unmatched way to collaborate with your fellow man, and is an integral part of daily life. Without the Internet, the face of the world today would be very different.   Read more »

For those trying to access the English-language Wikipedia today, you will only be able to find directions for reaching members of Congress to protest the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Privacy ACT (SOPA), legislation that critics argue could diminish Internet and free speech and would allow the US government to shut down websites that contain content or links to unauthorized copyrighted content.

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Sens. Grassley (R-IA), Hatch (R-UT), Sessions (R-AL), Coburn (R-OK), and Lee (R-UT) in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) requesting him to delay consideration of S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), so that concerns with the proposed legislation can be addressed.

The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Majority Leader Reid:   Read more »