This morning Pablo Chavez, Google's Director of Public Policy, posted on the Google Public Policy Blog about Google's copyright policy counsel Katherine Oyama testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on the Stop Online Piracy Act today. You can read her written and her oral testimony below. In a nutshell Google supports the concept of a SOPA-like law but does not feel comfortable with the way the current Senate bill is worded.
"We strongly support the goal of the bill -- cracking down on offshore websites that profit from pirated and counterfeited goods -- but we’re concerned the way it’s currently written would threaten innovation, jobs, and free expression. We are not alone in our concerns. Earlier this week, we joined eight other Internet companies -- AOL, eBay, Facebook, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo!, and Zynga -- in a letter to Congress, echoing concerns voiced by industry associations, entrepreneurs, small business owners, librarians, law professors, venture capitalists, human rights advocates, cybersecurity experts, public interest groups, and tens of thousands of private citizens.
Google says that Katherine’s testimony will offer "recommendations for more targeted ways to combat foreign “rogue” websites that are dedicated to copyright infringement and trademark counterfeiting, while preserving the innovation and dynamism that has made the Internet such an important driver of economic growth and job creation."
Source: Google. Thanks to Jennifer Mercurio (Vice President & General Counsel, ECA), for the tip.
Comments
Re: Google Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee on SOPA
It seems as Google is echoing that the current incarnation of this SOPA bill in Congress has major issues with over reach. That will be problematic to say the least. If Congress passed this during an election year many incumbents would get clobbered. Besides expect a slew of lawsuits in the Federal courts asking for injunctions to such a would be SOPA law if it passes.
There's also the knock back effect where if it passed. The more audacious provisions of criminalizing the ordinary citizen for streaming or what not. Would not get enforced and remain as a paper tiger. Where they be it Federal agencies would only go after the heavy major piracy pushers and ignore those at the bottom level of the totem pole.
But, I'm one not seeking to have that assumption tested anytime soon.
Re: Google Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee on SOPA
What I think of everytime I see SOPA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4UfAL9f74I
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Papa Midnight