Online Piracy Legislation in for Changes

Chances for passage of the Stop Online Piracy Act appear slim in the Senate, now that three Obama Administration officials have weighed in on the measure:

While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.

The bill has the support of content producers like movie studios and music companies, which claim to lose billions of dollars a year to piracy. The legislation looked like it would pass easily when first introduced in the House, until tech companies came down hard against the bill’s web site blocking scheme which opponents contend is essentially censorship. The US House and Senate may revise differing versions of the legislation before calling for a vote as early as next week.

At least two major web sites have announced a shut down tomorrow to protest the bill: Wikipedia and Reddit.