Rep. Paul Ryan Comes Out Forcefully Against SOPA After Reddit Pumps Up Opposing Candidate

from the well,-look-at-that... dept

This is kind of interesting. You may recall that, last month, when Reddit was casting about for a pro-SOPA candidate to oppose (along with an opponent they could back), for a little while they picked Rep. Paul Ryan. The Reddit community was actually looking for a politician who had supported both the NDAA and SOPA, and originally chose Ryan. This actually turned out to be a mistake, because Ryan did not support SOPA and his campaign quickly pushed out a statement to that effect. However, some of the wheels were already in motion, and Ryan's main opponent for his seat, Rob Zerban, quickly embraced Reddit, and was able to raise $15,000 in just 48 hours for his anti-SOPA position.

And while some had used this story to mock the potentially over-zealous crowd at Reddit... it looks like it did have an impact. Going further than his original statement, saying that Rep. Ryan was not a SOPA supporter, Ryan has now come out strongly against SOPA:

"The internet is one of the most magnificent expressions of freedom and free enterprise in history. It should stay that way. While H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act, attempts to address a legitimate problem, I believe it creates the precedent and possibility for undue regulation, censorship and legal abuse. I do not support H.R. 3261 in its current form and will oppose the legislation should it come before the full House."

So, it looks like even if they got it wrong initially, the whole effort did certainly (1) make SOPA into a campaign issue for Ryan and (2) lead him to come out with a clear statement against the bill. And, yet, Lamar Smith still thinks there's no real opposition.

Filed Under: campaign issue, copyright, free speech, paul ryan, pipa, protect ip, rob zerban, sopa
Companies: reddit

Candidates Starting To Turn SOPA Into A Campaign Issue: Karen Kwiatkowski Goes After Bob Goodlatte

from the don't-mess-with-the-internet dept

We recently pointed out that it was likely that candidates running against SOPA supporters (especially in the House) would start using SOPA as a campaign issue -- which could draw the attention and support of the netroots community, like the folks at Reddit, who are just itching to support candidates who oppose SOPA supporters. Well, here's one they might want to check out. Karen Kwiatkowski is running against Rep. Bob Goodlatte in Virginia, and is using SOPA as a key campaign talking point, noting accurately that Goodlatte both was in charge of putting SOPA together for much of the year (though, towards the end, Lamar Smith took over) and that he's become Smith's go to guy in ushering the bill through the House. Karen sees this as a big problem:

Bob Goodlatte spent 2011 CO-AUTHORING and INTRODUCING the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). SOPA makes the federal government EVEN BIGGER.

If passed, SOPA will dramatically increase the federal government’s role in our lives, online and offline. It authorizes the Attorney General to block websites accused of copyright infringement from search engines and ISPs. And it allows the Attorney General to “commence action” against them without a court order. SOPA will result in fewer independent websites, blogs, media sources, start-ups and tech industry jobs. And as a result, lower quality.

How will it do this, you ask? Simple. It increases the cost of doing business for U.S. tech firms, payment network providers and advertisers.

In addition to increasing legal and compliance costs for small businesses, it also increases the size and scope of the federal government.

SOPA expands the State Department, Attorney General's Office, Copyright Office and other agencies and creates a new set of bureaucrats. One we have never heard of before is the “intellectual property attache.” IP Attaches will be trained and appointed to regional bureaus, embassies and diplomatic missions throughout the world. And they work with copyright holders at the expense of taxpayers.

With the Reddit community so actively looking for candidates to support, perhaps it's time to check out Karen.

Filed Under: bob goodlatte, campaign issue, free speech, government, karen kwiatkowski, sopa