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SOPA was introduced by a [[Republican]] in the House, Judiciary Committee Chair [[Lamar Smith]] (R-TX).<ref>http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400381</ref><ref>http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/112%20HR%203261.pdf (emphasis added)</ref>

SOPA was introduced by a [[Republican]] in the House, Judiciary Committee Chair [[Lamar Smith]] (R-TX).<ref>http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400381</ref><ref>http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/112%20HR%203261.pdf (emphasis added)</ref>

Former Democratic Senator [[Chris Dodd]] -- now chairman of the [[Motion Picture Association of America]] -- is a leading advocate of the bill and criticized the website blackout that occurred on Jan. 18 as a "gimmick":<ref>http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/18/chris-dodd-sopa-blackout-is-an-abuse-of-power/</ref>

Former Democratic Senator [[Chris Dodd]]—now chairman of the [[Motion Picture Association of America]]—is a leading advocate of the bill and criticized the website blackout that occurred on Jan. 18 as a "gimmick":<ref>http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/18/chris-dodd-sopa-blackout-is-an-abuse-of-power/</ref>

{{cquote|designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals. '''''It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information and use their services'''''.}}

{{cquote|designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals. '''''It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information and use their services'''''.}}

==Critics==

==Critics==

This legislation is one of the few bills that both conservatives and liberals vehemently oppose. Everyone from leftist occupiers to the Tea Party think this bill is a bad idea, yet Obama has not stated that he would veto it. Among the many critics of the bill are [[Conservapedia]], ConservativeNewsAndViews.com, [[The Heritage Foundation]],<ref>http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/01/online-piracy-sopa-and-internet-security-pipa-bills-in-congress</ref> [[Google]], [[Facebook]], [[Twitter]], [[Wikipedia]], [[Yahoo!]], Mozilla (the creators of [[Firefox]]), [[MoveOn.org]] <ref>[http://www.webpronews.com/moveon-sopa-blackout-2012-01 SOPA Blackout: MoveOn.Org Joins Protest, WebProNews, January 16, 2012]</ref>, House Minority Leader [[Nancy Pelosi]], Rep. [[Ron Paul]], who was at the time a candidate in the 2012 GOP presidential primaries, Rep. [[Michele Bachmann]], and Rep. [[Darrell Issa]].

This legislation is one of the few bills that both conservatives and liberals vehemently oppose. Everyone from leftist occupiers to the Tea Party think this bill is a bad idea, yet Obama has not stated that he would veto it. Among the many critics of the bill are [[Conservapedia]], ConservativeNewsAndViews.com, [[The Heritage Foundation]],<ref>http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/01/online-piracy-sopa-and-internet-security-pipa-bills-in-congress</ref> [[Google]], [[Facebook]], [[Twitter]], [[Wikipedia]], [[Yahoo!]], Mozilla (the creators of [[Firefox]]), [[MoveOn.org]],<ref>[http://www.webpronews.com/moveon-sopa-blackout-2012-01 SOPA Blackout: MoveOn.Org Joins Protest, WebProNews, January 16, 2012]</ref> House Minority Leader [[Nancy Pelosi]], Rep. [[Ron Paul]], who was at the time a candidate in the 2012 GOP presidential primaries, Rep. [[Michele Bachmann]], and Rep. [[Darrell Issa]].

The [[Obama Administration]] released a statement which read, in part, "we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet. Any effort to combat [[online piracy]] must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small."<ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/01/14/obama-administration-responds-we-people-petitions-sopa-and-online-piracy]</ref>. The administration has also released a statement implying that it will veto the legislation should it reach the president's desk.

The [[Obama Administration]] released a statement which read, in part, "we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet. Any effort to combat [[online piracy]] must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small.".<ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/01/14/obama-administration-responds-we-people-petitions-sopa-and-online-piracy]</ref> The administration has also released a statement implying that it will veto the legislation should it reach the president's desk.

On January 18, 2012, some websites launched a protest of SOPA and PIPA.  English Wikipedia shut down for 24 hours, and Google ran a black banner.  English Wikipedia shut down after a quick discussion generated comments from 1,800 users.  763 of those users supported the shutdown, while the rest favored other actions or no actions.  Many of those voting for a shut down were newly-created accounts, so the vote did not reflect the wishes of the 100,000 Wikipedia editors.  Other Wikipedia projects, such as Simple English Wikipedia, voted to not protest. During and after the protest, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) urged users to contact their Congressional representatives.  WMF claimed that SOPA "threatened the existence of Wikipedia" while internal critics there disputed that claim. ConservativeNewsAndViews.com shut down and redirected to a site criticizing SOPA and PIPA.  

On January 18, 2012, some websites launched a protest of SOPA and PIPA.  English Wikipedia shut down for 24 hours, and Google ran a black banner.  English Wikipedia shut down after a quick discussion generated comments from 1,800 users.  763 of those users supported the shutdown, while the rest favored other actions or no actions.  Many of those voting for a shut down were newly-created accounts, so the vote did not reflect the wishes of the 100,000 Wikipedia editors.  Other Wikipedia projects, such as Simple English Wikipedia, voted to not protest. During and after the protest, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) urged users to contact their Congressional representatives.  WMF claimed that SOPA "threatened the existence of Wikipedia" while internal critics there disputed that claim. ConservativeNewsAndViews.com shut down and redirected to a site criticizing SOPA and PIPA.