If you thought the web was safe from SOPA, think again. According to RT, details are starting to leak out of Washington about a low profile bill being prepared by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and others. And get this – not only does it revive SOPA, but it also contains provisions similar to the Kill Switch bill from a while back.
According to leaks, the bill will put the executive branch (I.E. the White House) in charge of the internet and cybersecurity. These powers would not only include those focused on stomping out piracy, but also shutting down the whole internet if a "cybersecurity emergency" were declared.
These reports come a day after an editorial by RIAA CEO Cary H. Sherman appeared in the New York Times. In the editorial, Sherman accuses websites like Google and Wikipedia of using "dirty tricks" – spreading misinformation – to keep piracy alive. Exactly why Wikipedia wants to defend piracy isn"t mentioned, but we"re sure they have good reasons. Mr. Sherman said so.
Sherman also blamed the "old media," comprised of the collective (literal) press and TV networks of not doing enough to defend the legislation, mainly because they still feel the need to draw a line between "news" and "editorial." Riiiiiight.
One paragraph of Sherman"s editorial stands out from the rest, in which he essentially accuses most of the people who were opposed to SOPA and PIPA of, get this, being members of Annonymous.
No doubt, some genuinely wanted to protect Americans against theft but were sincerely concerned about how the language in the bill might be interpreted. But others may simply believe that online music, books and movies should be free. And how many of those e-mails were from the same people who attacked the Web sites of the Department of Justice, the Motion Picture Association of America, my organization and others as retribution for the seizure of Megaupload, an international digital piracy operation? Indeed, it’s hackers like the group Anonymous that engage in real censorship when they stifle the speech of those with whom they disagree.
In the end, Sherman says that the only possible solution is new legislation. According to him, OPEN, a less heavy handed alternative to SOPA, isn"t nearly adequate enough to actually put a stop to piracy. Now it looks like that new legislation could be right around the corner, and it just might make SOPA look nice.