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The '''Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)''' (also known as the [[E-PARASITE Act]], House Bill 3261, or H.R. 3261) is a bill currently being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives that was demanded by the wealthy corporations as well as the music and film industry.  If passed, this bill would impose a number of controversial measures for dealing with online piracy including the distribution of copyrighted material via the [[internet]]. The Attorney General would be able to close down websites that infringe copyrights, and ban the site from online payment mechanisms such as [[PayPal]] and Visa. He could also prohibit the sites' online advertising, and disable [[Google]] from ranking and linking to infringing sites.   

The '''Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)''' (also known as the [[E-PARASITE Act]], House Bill 3261, or H.R. 3261) is a bill currently being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives that was demanded by the wealthy corporations as well as the music and film industry.  If passed, this bill would impose a number of controversial measures for dealing with online piracy including the distribution of copyrighted material via the [[internet]]. The Attorney General would be able to close down websites that infringe copyrights, and ban the site from online payment mechanisms such as [[PayPal]] and Visa. He could also prohibit the sites' online advertising, and disable [[Google]] from ranking and linking to infringing sites.   

The corresponding Senate bill, deceptively named by [[Democrat]] leadership as the [[PROTECT IP Act]], is being pushed through the [[Democratic]] Senate by [[Harry Reid]] (D-NV), whom liberals helped reelect in 2010.

The corresponding Senate bill, deceptively named by [[Democrat]] leadership as the [[PROTECT IP Act]], is being pushed through the [[Democratic]] Senate by [[Patrick Leahy]] (D-VT) and [[Harry Reid]] (D-NV), whom liberals helped reelect in 2010.

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>

==Critics==

==Critics==

This legislation is one of the few bills that both conservatives and liberals vehemetly oppose. Everyone from leftist occupiers to the Tea Party think this bill is a bad idea and due to the pressure from the American people, Obama has indicated that he will veto the bill. Among the many critics of the bill are [[Conservapedia]], ConservativeNewsAndViews.com, [[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 is a candidate in the 2012 GOP presidential primaries, 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 and due to the pressure from the American people, Obama has indicated that he will veto the bill. Among the many critics of the bill are [[Conservapedia]], ConservativeNewsAndViews.com, [[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 is 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.