Internet companies such as Google are using their online clout to stoke opposition to Hollywood-backed anti-piracy measures in the U.S. Congress that they say will encourage censorship and chill innovation.
Google, owner of the world’s most popular search engine, placed a link on its highly visible home page today opposing the House and Senate bills, joining protests by Wikipedia and other websites. Google had about 400 million daily U.S. searches in December, according to internet measurement firm comScore, dwarfing the 111 million viewers of last year’s Super Bowl game.
Public criticism led by Google, Facebook and Twitter slowed an initial “smooth glide to passage” for the anti-piracy measures supported by the entertainment industry, Rogan Kersh, an associate dean at New York University”s Wagner School who conducts research on lobbying, said in an interview.
“Google and Facebook and Twitter are part of our daily lives in a way that most of us find very appealing,” Kersh said. “These are sexy brands. If you’re a member of Congress, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of the social media and new media darlings of America.”
Google typically devotes its home page to displaying its own services, not taking stands on legislation, and its Google icon is often used to commemorate historical events and individuals. Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia where users contribute entries, is shutting the English version of its website for 24 hours to protest the measures.
Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, said in a statement yesterday that it opposes the House measure as currently drafted. The company said it doesn’t plan to shut down its online services in protest.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate are backed by the movie and music industries as a means to crack down on the sale of counterfeit goods by non-U.S. websites. Hollywood studios want lawmakers to ensure that internet companies such as Google share responsibility for curbing the distribution of pirated material.
The so-called blackout day to protest anti-piracy legislation is “abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today,” Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
“It’s a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users in order to further their corporate interests,” said Mr. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who served three decades in the Senate.
News Corp.Chairman Rupert Murdoch called Google a “piracy leader” in a Jan. 14 post on Twitter, saying that it streams movies for free and sells advertisements around them. A day later he wrote in his Twitter account that Google is a “great company doing many exciting things. Only one complaint, and it’s important.” Miranda Higham, a News Corp. spokeswoman, declined to comment.
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