SOPA and PIPA Shelved… At Least for the Time Being

Earlier today, as a result of the large number of sites that blacked out on Wednesday to protest the bills, both SOPA and PIPA have been shelved by the US government. And so the denizens of the internet creeped out of their basements to stand atop these two bills corpses with pride.

Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader in the Senate, announced on his Twitter that “In light of recent events, [he has] decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT IP Act.” Shortly after Lamar Smith, the jackass that proposed SOPA in the first place, also announced that he was going to be shelving his bill. He said in his released statement:

“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products. ”

But that doesn’t mean that we will be safe forever. Senator Smith went on to say:

“The Committee will continue work with copyright owners, Internet companies, financial institutions to develop proposals that combat online piracy and protect America’s intellectual property.  We welcome input from all organizations and individuals who have an honest difference of opinion about how best to address this widespread problem.  The Committee remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation.”

Senator Reid also said on his Twitter that “Americans rightfully expect to be fairly compensated 4 their work. I’m optimistic that we can reach compromise on PROTECT IP in coming week.”

So while we are in the clear for now, there could be something else just on horizon. But we will not be fighting alone if that day should come. We will have people like Rep. Darrell Issa, who said this today about the efforts high ranking internet people (and then jackasses like us) to put a stop to these bills:

“Supporters of the Internet deserve credit for pressing advocates of SOPA and PIPA to back away from an effort to ram through controversial legislation. Over the last two months, the intense popular effort to stop SOPA and PIPA has defeated an effort that once looked unstoppable.Postponing the Senate vote on PIPA removes the imminent threat to the Internet, but it’s not over yet. Copyright infringement remains a serious problem and any solution must be targeted, effective, and consistent with how the Internet works.”

Sources: Ars Technica, Giant Bomb, The Committee on the Judiciary, Sen. Harry Reid’s Twitter