Well, That's One Vote

[kevin_standlee]

My member of the House of Representatives is Pete Stark. I got the following message from him today regarding the so-called "Stop Internet Piracy Act."

Dear Mr. Standlee:

Thank you for writing with regard to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) (H.R. 3261).

While I believe that those who violate copyright laws should be held accountable for their actions, I am concerned that this legislation also violates the free speech and due process rights of content producers and Internet consumers. As it is currently written, SOPA enables law enforcement to target all sites that contain some infringing content (no matter how small), and those who "facilitate" infringing content. This is comparable to taking down all of Facebook because someone posts a copyright-protected video to his or her profile. Furthermore, a copyright holder could issue an order to have a website seized without seeking court approval.

Until actions are taken by SOPA's authors to ensure that this bill does not infringe upon basic civil liberties, I cannot support it.

Sincerely,
Pete Stark
Member of Congress

There's more wrong with SOPA than just what Mr. Stark lists here, as I'm sure many of you know, but at least for now he's opposing it. Let's hope there are enough people in Congress with enough sense to realize why this law is such a bad idea to keep it from passing.