US Senate bows to online protests and postpones piracy bills
A concerted online effort from the likes of Google, Reddit and Wikipedia to ferment public opposition to two American anti-piracy bills has achieved the desired effect after the US Senate elected to postpone a vote on the contentious issue.
PIPA (Protect IP Act) and SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) had stirred widespread opposition in the belief that they would instead serve to stymie the free flow of information online.
Conceding these qualms both Democratic and Republican leaders have now spoken out publicly against the measures in their present guise.
Senate majority leader Harry Reid said: “There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved”, urging a “balance” to be struck between the competing interests of protecting copyright and retaining an open internet.