Legislation to curb online piracy has pitted Internet companies against the film and music industries, which want the government to do more to fight intellectual-property theft.
Google, Facebook, Yahoo and eBay are among Web companies that say the bill will lead to Internet policing and harm online innovation.
The House version of the legislation introduced last month, HR 3261, would allow the U.S. attorney general to seek court orders requiring U.S. Internet service providers, search engines, payment processors and ad networks to block or cease business with foreign websites linked to online piracy. It also gives private copyright holders a mechanism to try to cut off financial support to infringing websites.
But Katherine Oyama, copyright counsel for Google, said at a hearing Wednesday that the House legislation is too broad and could impose harsh sanctions on “innocent” websites, such as an e-commerce site targeted over goods offered by a single seller.
The Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are among the supporters of the legislation.
Bloomberg News
