There is tremendous controversy surrounding the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) otherwise known as H.R. 3261 introduced in October of 2011 and this past weekend the President’s office finally responded to the online petitions and mounting pressure to find another, less destructive way to fight international trampling of copyright and other intellectual property rights. 

Techcrunch reported the White House response:

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.

Prominent digerati have been outspoken about their fears that this misguided attempt to use the DNS system we all rely on would have far reaching and negative consequences.  This bill, among other impacts, would have put the onus on ad networks and other internet service providers to refuse business from certain sites and would bar search engines from displaying links to those sites.  Huh?  Since when is it all our jobs to police and enforce?

If broadly interpreted, many believe this bill and its sister bill in the Senate (PIPA) violate the First Amendment and may restrict the use of proxy servers to disseminate critical information, for instance during populace uprisings. 

It looks like, for the moment at least, the power of the web may have saved the power of the web. It pays for all of us to be vigilant and active participants in the laws governing this space as they hold tremendous power to protect or disrupt our fundamental rights as well as our ability to conduct business.