In the same day that the Protect IP Act has been postponed, there is news that Rep. Lamar Smith has chosen to shelve the Stop Online Piracy Act for the second time. He had previously promised that SOPA would get a hearing in February, but in the face of this past week, he’s dropped his babyish attitude.
Smith said that he had taken criticism of SOPA into consideration and admitted that his war on piracy needs revisiting in a fresh way. That could be good or bad, depending on his next bright idea.
Only four days ago, SOPA had been postponed, but an angry Smith pulled it back into play when news of the blackout protests were heard. With the blackout pulling more support away from these bills, however, the validity of SOPA has been at an all-time low. The downfall of PIPA was apparently the last straw.
Once again, it bears repeating that this is far from over. Megaupload was yanked down even without these bills in effect, and there’s no telling what legislators and lobbyists will cook up in future. For now, at least, let’s just enjoy some good news as we remain vigilant.
