Solutions to Stop Piracy, Protect Internet from Censorship

BY LINDA LINGLE – I have been monitoring the issue of how best to address copyright infringement and intellectual property piracy occurring via foreign websites.

Two current bills pending in the U.S. Congress, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), would give broad reaching powers to the Department of Justice to shut down or severely curtail American internet companies, search engines, and sites who connect to these foreign sources.

I share the concern of many internet users and members of Congress, that these legislative proposals have not been thoroughly vetted.  I am strongly committed to the protection of intellectual property and believe those involved in the industry are best suited to work together to develop policing and enforcement systems that can address the perpetrators.

International examples exist for setting standards and allowing industry officials to use independent third parties to ensure these standards are adhered to.  Underwriters Laboratory and ISO 9001 (International Organization of Standardization for quality management controls) are two such examples.

As Senator, I would work to develop public-private cooperative efforts that address piracy and copyright infringement without the potential of government censorship that the current legislative proposals would permit.