Christopher Dodd, the current head of the Motion Picture Association of America, famously denounced the mass blackout plans of thousands of web sites last January a day before they happened to protest the SOPA and PIPA bills in the US Congress. The former US Senator said at the time that it was "yet another gimmick." He had to eat his words a few days later. The blackout caused a number of people in Congress to switch their positions on SOPA and PIPA and finally the voting on both bills were delayed indefinitely.
However, Dodd seems to believe that there can be some kind of understanding on a bill such as SOPA, which its supporters claim is out to stop online piracy. Its opponents believe the bill was too broadly worded and could be used to shut down any site for the slimmest of reasons.
In a new interview for The Hollywood Reporter, Dodd says that he wishes Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, were alive today, saying, "At least he understood the connection between content and technology." He added that he hopes that there are others like Jobs " ... who are smart and highly respected in both communities. Between now and sometime next year [after the presidential election], the two industries need to come to an understanding."
When asked if any talks are happening right now between the tech and entertainment industries over SOPA, Dodd replied, "I"m confident that"s the case, but I"m not going to go into more detail because obviously if I do, it becomes counterproductive."
He was also asked about President Barack Obama"s switch from supporting to opposing SOPA but Dodd declined to comment, saying, "I"m not going to revisit the events of last winter. I"ll only say to you that I"m confident he"s using his good relationships in both communities to do exactly what you and I have been talking about."
Dodd also talked about the shut down of the MegaUpload file sharing site which happened just as the SOPA bill was put on hold. Dodd agreed that the timing of the events " ... seemed a little too coincidental." He also said that a woman from the Justice Department told Dodd the reason why the move against MegaUpload was made on that day. Apparently it was picked because it was a big day for MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom. Dodd claims the woman told him, "Oh, we"ve known about the date for the last year because it was his birthday. It was a big party, and we knew all the assets would be there."