Lawmaker Waters Down His Online Blacklisting Bill
"Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced amendments late Monday to the Stop Online Piracy Act — changes that dramatically water down the controversial measure’s scope.
A hearing on SOPA before the House Judiciary Committee, which Smith heads, is slated for Thursday. The original measure amounted to the holy grail of intellectual property enforcement, as it effectively gave private companies the ability to de-fund websites they alleged to be trafficking in unauthorized copyright and trademark goods — without having to get a judge’s approval.
Under the amended plan (.pdf), which was released late Monday, a judge would have to order ad networks to stop doing business with a site “dedicated” to infringing activities. Under the original proposal, a rights holder could make those demands on an ad network or payment processor and effectively kill off the site.
“That is pretty big,” said Sherwin Siy, a staff attorney with digital-rights group Public Knowledge."
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...own-amendment/